SWAC Basketball: 2024 Conference Tournament Recap and First Four matchup preview
Quarterfinal #4 5 Bethune-Cookman defeats 4 Southern 73-58
The Wildcats blew open a tight game with a big run in the middle of the second half. The trend of this tournament seems to be cold shooting and the Jaguars continued that trend, only making 2 three pointers on 18 attempts. Strong first-half defense kept the Jags in the game. Tidjiane Dioumassi scored 17 points for Southern. Bethune-Cookman got their third win over Southern by hitting every big shot they took. The Wildcats took over the second half making 52% fg, 66% 3pt, and 90% ft. Dhashon Dyson scored 20 points, including 9 pounds from 3-point range. This was a history-making win for BCU, it was their first SWAC tournament win since joining the league in 2021.
Semifinal #1 1 Grambling State defeats 5 Bethune-Cookman 65-53
The number 1 seed Tigers dominated this game from the start, never giving the Wildcats a chance to make it a game. BCU turned in a sluggish performance Friday afternoon. This game was the total opposite of their Quarterfinal win, as they shot 29% from the field and 26% from deep. Jakobi Heady led the way with 17 points. The G-Men dominated the first half by a score of 44-19. Remember when I earlier said Jonathan Cisse had the second best performance in the tournament? Well, Tra'Michael Moton topped that performance by scoring 26 points and making 6 three-pointers. He had a stretch in the first half where he made 5 straight threes. Grambling continues to be my favorite to win the tournament and they've looked the part with two strong wins.
Semifinal #2 3 Texas Southern defeats 7 Alabama A&M, 72-65
This game had everything you want in a tournament game: emotions, tough play, and scoring runs. Alabama A&M put on a great showing by continuing to fight and battle against the Tigers. Ultimately TSU made enough plays which helped them defeat AAMU for the 21st time in a row. Lorenzo Downey continued his strong SWAC tourney scoring 17 points. Texas Southern was able to respond to every push the Bulldogs made. Jonathan Cisse scored 18 points, giving him a tournament average of 21 points per game. That average makes him the tournament's leading scorer. Another March, another SWAC tournament final for the Tigers. A 4-peat is well within reach for Texas Southern.