HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Ivy Smith, Jr. and DeVante Jackson put up career highs in points as the Grambling State University men's basketball team rallied from nine down in the final three minutes to force overtime and defeat Alabama A&M, 84-74, to capture a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular season championship on Thursday night at T.M. Elmore Gymnasium.
 
Grambling State (16-14 overall, 12-5 SWAC) came into the game one-game up over idle Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday with an opportunity to clinch its first SWAC regular season crown in 30 years (1988-89). With one game remaining in the regular season for both teams (Grambling State at Alabama State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff hosting Mississippi Valley State), the worst the Tigers would finish is a tie for the top spot and a share of the conference crown.
 
Smith led all scorers with a career-high 32 points, including a clutch 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. He also added nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jackson tallied a career-high 22 points, on 7-of-13 shooting, with five boards, three blocks and two assists. Jason Perry-Murray registered 12 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one assist.
 
De'Ederick Petty and Andre Kennedy paced Alabama A&M (2-28, 2-15) with 13 points each. Arthur Johnson chipped in 12 points, six boards, two steals and two assists.
 

The Tigers rally from nine down in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime and defeat @AAMUBulldogs 84-74 to clinch its first @theswac regular season championship in 30 years pic.twitter.com/mBcbaYR4PO

— GSU Athletics (@GSU_TIGERS) March 2, 2018

Turning Point
With the game tied at 9, Grambling State got some distance and took a 16-9 advantage after a DeVante Jackson 3-pointer with 14:01 left in the first half.
 
Alabama A&M closed the gap 22-20 after an Ariston Johnson bucket with 8:26 remaining, but the Tigers quickly extended the lead to 26-22 after two free throws by Jackson with 5:51 left.
 
The Bulldogs closed out the first half strong as Alabama A&M used an 11-2 run down the stretch to take a 33-28 lead into the break.
 
Coming out of the break, Grambling State cut the deficit to 33-31, but the Bulldogs put together a 13-4 run, capped by an Arthur Johnson layup to give Alabama A&M a 46-35 lead with 16:48 left.
 
Grambling State closed the gap to 52-49 after an Ivy Smith, Jr.  free throw with 11:27 remaining, but again Alabama A&M pushed the lead, extending the margin to 60-51 after a Tracy Burnett jumper with just under eight and a half minutes to play.
 
The Tigers trailed 68-59 with 2:59 remaining and that is when Grambling State started reeling in the Bulldogs. Smith and Shirmane Thomas sank back-to-back 3-pointers and Smith connected on a three-point play to close the gap to 70-68 with 1:30 left.
 
Despite the big comeback, Grambling State still trailed by three, 73-70, with seven seconds left when Smith sank a shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
 
In the extra period and Grambling State leading, 75-73, De'Ederick Petty sank a free throw with 4:07 left to cut the Tigers' lead to 75-74. That would be the last time Alabama A&M would score as Grambling State closed out the game on a 9-0 run to pick up the overtime win.
 
Inside the Numbers
* Grambling State shot 30-of-66 (45.5 percent) from the field, 9-of-13 (64.3 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the free-throw line.
* Alabama A&M shot 46 percent (29-of-63) from the floor and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the charity stripe.
* The Tigers registered 41 rebounds, with 14 coming on the offensive end.
* The Bulldogs recorded 36 rebounds, including 26 off the defensive glass.
* Grambling State registered 28 points in the paint, 19 points off turnovers, 16 second-chance points and 14 fast-break points.
* Alabama A&M finished with 28 points in the paint, 25 bench points and 15 fast-break points.
* The Tigers' largest lead came in overtime – 10 points.
* The Bulldogs' largest lead was 11 points with 16:48 remaining in the second half.
 
News and Notes
* Grambling State avoided its first sweep by a conference opponent this season.
* After an 11-game winning streak, the Tigers snapped a two-game skid with Thursday night's win.
* The last time Grambling State won the regular season SWAC title was 1988-89.
* The Tigers are 2-0 in overtime games this season.
* Ivy Smith, Jr.'s previous career high came against Tougaloo College this season (31 points).
* DeVante Jackson's previous career high came against East Carolina this season (21 points).
 
Up Next
Grambling State concludes the season on Saturday in Montgomery, Ala. against Alabama State. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. from the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
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