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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Second-seeded Louisiana and eighth-seeded South Alabama will meet on Monday for the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship at the Pensacola Bay Center.
Tip-off for the title tilt is slated for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally by ESPN2 with Mike Morgan and Mark Wise calling the action. Monday’s champion will earn the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
At No. 8, South Alabama matches the 2021-22 Louisiana team as the highest seed ever to advance to the final in the event’s history. This marks the second consecutive finals appearance for the Ragin’ Cajuns, while the Jaguars last appeared in the finals in 2009.
Louisiana was the preseason favorite of the Sun Belt Coaches to win the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, while South Alabama was picked third.
South Alabama is making its 10th all-time appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament Championship Game, while Louisiana is making its ninth. The Jaguars and Ragin’ Cajuns have met twice previously in the finals.
(8) South Alabama 75, (4) James Madison 66 (Box Score)
Eighth-seeded South Alabama shot 53 percent from the field, placed four players in double-figure scoring and never trailed in a 75-66 semifinal win against fourth-seeded James Madison.
The Jaguars (19-15) continue their magical run into the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. South Alabama on Saturday knocked off the tournament’s top seed and Sun Belt Regular-Season Champion Southern Miss.
South Alabama, which played a non-conference schedule that has an NCAA NET Strength of Schedule of 33, finished the first half of the Sun Belt Conference regular-season schedule with a record of 2-7. The Jaguars have won 11 of their last 13 games entering Sunday’s final.
South Alabama started the game on a 9-0 run and led 38-31 at halftime.
Isaiah Moore finished with a team-high 18 points, a game-high five assists and five rebounds to lead the way for South Alabama.
Owen White, who has been explosive from long range in the tournament, totaled 17 points and made four three-pointers. For this year’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament, White is averaging 18 points per game and four three-pointers made per game. Both of those numbers well exceed his overall season averages of 9.1 points per game and 2.2 made threes per game.
Greg Parham II (16) and Tyrell Jones (10) also scored in double digits for South Alabama. Kevin Samuel, the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, brought down a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked two shots.
South Alabama made 52.7 percent (29-of-55) of its shots from the field, while limiting James Madison to just 39.7 percent (25-of-63) shooting. The Dukes made just 2-of-16 three-point attempts. James Madison won the rebound battle 40-32.
James Madison (22-11) was led by Mezie Offurum’s game-high 20 points. Takal Molson scored 14 points and added a team-high nine rebounds, while Terrence Edwards contributed 13 points.
(2) Louisiana 64, (11) Texas State 58 (Box Score)
Several key plays by First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection Jordan Brown powered second-seeded Louisiana to a 64-58 semifinal victory against 11th-seeded Texas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns never trailed in the game.
Brown scored a game-high 18 points and brought down six rebounds for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Ten of his 18 came in the second half, with seven of them in the game’s final five minutes. Perhaps no stretch in the game was bigger than Brown’s offensive rebound of a missed free throw by Themus Fulks and a jumper in the paint with 38 seconds remaining to give Louisiana a 62-58 advantage.
Brown has averaged 17 points per game for Louisiana in its two-game stretch at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Terence Lewis II also scored in double figures for the Ragin’ Cajuns with 10 points to go with seven rebounds. Greg Williams Jr., added nine points. Fulks dished out a game-high five assists with seven rebounds.
Louisiana shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50) from the floor in the game, while Texas State shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57). The Ragin’ Cajuns made 15-of-24 shots from the free-throw line. Louisiana won the rebound battle 35-31.
Texas State (16-19), which was attempting to become the first double-digit seed ever to advance to the finals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, was led by 12 points from Mason Harrell. Harrell averaged 16.3 points per game for the Bobcats during their three-game stay in Pensacola.
Also scoring in double figures for the Bobcats were Jordan Mason (11) and Nighael Ceaser (10). Ceaser notched a double-double by bringing down a game-high 10 rebounds.
2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship
Tuesday, February 28
Game 1 – (13) Arkansas State 86, (12) Coastal Carolina 69
Game 2 – (11) Texas State 81, (14) Georgia State 76
Thursday, March 2
Game 3 – (8) South Alabama 68, (9) App State 61
Game 4 – (5) Troy 63, (13) Arkansas State 59
Game 5 – (11) Texas State 65, (6) Old Dominion 36
Game 6 – (7) Georgia Southern 66, (10) ULM 57
Saturday, March 4
Game 7 – (8) South Alabama 78, (1) Southern Miss 61
Game 8 – (4) James Madison 75, (5) Troy 72
Game 9 – (11) Texas State 71, (3) Marshall 68
Game 10 – (2) Louisiana 67, (7) Georgia Southern 49
Sunday, March 5
Game 11 – (8) South Alabama 75, (4) James Madison 66
Game 12 – (2) Louisiana 64, (11) Texas State 58
Monday, March 6
Game 13 – (2) Louisiana vs. (8) South Alabama – 6 p.m. CT
All Times Central
All Games on ESPN+; Championship Game on ESPN2