Deverell Biggs stepped in after Malcolm Riley was injured on a flagrant foul and made two free throws with 27 seconds left, Madarious Gibbs added another and Texas Southern beat Southern 62-58 on Saturday in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.
Riley was unable to shoot about being fouled by Trelun Banks, who was ejected.
Riley led the Tigers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gibbs, the conference player of the year, went 4 for 15 from the field and finished with 12 points in the game.
Freshman forward Jared Sam had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Jaguars.
Texas Southern (22-12) had already clinched its bid to the NCAA tournament with a 90-77 win over Prairie View A&M in Friday's semifinal game, because Southern (18-17) was ineligible for the NCAAs for failing to meet APR requirements.
Tre Lynch missed a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds to go that would have given Southern the lead.
The Jaguars hit six of their first 10 shots of the second half to move into the lead, with Sam scoring six quick points from both inside and out. The Tigers sputtered out of the locker, scoring just six points in the first nine minutes of the second half.
Despite having the tournament bid locked up, TSU started the same five starters it did in the semifinal that clinched its berth.
Neither team took more than a five-point lead at any time during the first 20 minutes as both were nearly identical down the stat sheet.
Southern is one of five schools from the SWAC ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to APR issues. The school presidents took a vote to allow the five schools to participate in the conference tournament, a departure from years past.
TSU won the conference tournament and earned an NCAA berth last season. This marks the second time in TSU history the team will go to the tournament in back-to-back years, earning bids in 1994 and 1995.
TIP-INS
Texas Southern: TSU's berth in the NCAA tournament will be coach Mike Davis' seventh trip of his career.
Southern: Southern's bench outscored TSU's 20 to 10.
UP NEXT
Texas Southern: NCAA tournament.
Southern: Season over.
