Photo By Josh Halley/The Souther
Alabama A&M guard Obie Trotter drives past Catraiva Givens of Jackson State. Trotter, the SWAC player of the year, finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds. PHOTO BY JOSH HALLEY
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM,Ala.- Anyone canlight a match, but you have to be blazing to come out with a win.
JacksonState lit the match, started the fire and even burned for a little while, butAlabama A&M turned on the hose, watered the Tigers out and started a wildfirethat blazed all the way.
The No. 1seed Alabama A&M (17-13) advanced to the championship game of theSouthwestern Athletic Conference men’s tournament with an 74-56 win over No. 5seed Jackson State (16-16) Friday at the Birmingham-Jefferson Complex Center(BJCC) Arena .
JacksonState brought the heat as they started the first half with a high level ofintensity. A&M trailed behind Jackson State with 20-19 with 6:27 remaininguntil All-SWAC and Player of the Year, junior guard Obie Trotter , hit a 3-point shot at 6:03 in the first half.
After beingtied up twice in the first half, senior guard Rick Ricketts hit a jumper forA&M with 3:23 left and the Bulldogs never looked back as they enteredhalftime with the 30-24 lead.
“We didn’tplay that good defensively in the first half,” said Alabama A&M head coachVann Pettaway.
In thesecond half Alabama A&M blazed through Jackson State’s defense as they shot12-of-22 from the field while Jackson State shot 11-of-38.
“Thedifference in the second half of the ball game was our momentum andconfidence,” said Pettaway. “Wedid a good job defensively, held our heads up, and brought the fire.”
Juniorforward Joseph Martin led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
AlabamaA&M will face Alabama State on Sunday at 11 p.m. at the BJCC Arena, in theSWAC Championship game.