Aug. 14, 2009

Birmingham, AL - March 14, 2009 - (Note: This is one of series of stories looking back on sport champions from the 2008-09 season).

It was building to this all year long.

Alabama State and Jackson State dominated the SWAC regular season, going 16-2 and 15-3 respectively, en route to the top seeds in the conference tournament. They split their two previous contests, and pointed the possibility of this matchup even before the brackets were set.

Fittingly, their face-off in the SWAC Championship game was a slugfest. But, it was ASU who landed the final blow with an intense 65-58 win.

"Our guys have worked so hard for this," said Hornets' head coach Lewis Jackson. "Since we lost to Jackson State in last year's tournament, our players have used getting back to this point. It was great motivation for us and I couldn't be more proud of them for their effort."

Early on, things didn't look so good for ASU. Jackson State controlled almost the entire first half, building a 23-13 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

Six quick points by Wesley Jones sparked a run that was capped a 10-2 run by Brandon Brooks' steal and one-handed flush, and JSU's advantage was only 25-23 at the half.

The momentum from that play clearly carried over the second half, as the Hornets quickly tied the score and then took control of the game because of a player who has been strangely overlooked for much of the season.

Andrew Hayles, last year's SWAC player of the year, hadn't had the senior campaign most expected. Still, when it mattered most, the sharpshooter made the difference.

With the score tied at 34, Hayles drilled a three-pointer. After super-sub Roland Fitch scored inside for ASU, Hayles canned another triple to push the lead to eight. The Hornet lead quickly grew to 10 when Ivory White put back a missed layup. JSU's Kenny Russell tried to stop the run with a nifty layup, but Hayles answer with another three-pointer - this one from NBA range and the Hornets seemed on their way to the NCAA tournament.

However, Jackson State simply wouldn't quit.

Grant Maxey quickly scored four points and Darrion Griffin added a couple of free throws to cut into the Hornets' lead to three.

But the Hornets made just enough of their free throws to seal the win and their first SWAC tournament title since 2004.

"This means so much to me because I know what it took to get here," ASU's Jackson said. "Our players and our fans deserve this win and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Hayles led all scorers with 17 points. Wesley Jones added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Fitch chipped in 12.

Maxey paced Jackson State (18-15) with 15. Darrion Griffin and Garrison Johnson scored 12 each.

"We couldn't have played any harder," said Tevester Anderson, JSU's head coach. "We just weren't as shrewd as we normally are and got caught up playing their game and not ours. We took too many jump shots instead of going inside and found ourselves behind. We fought to come back, but it was too much against such a good team."

Alabama State (22-10) fell to Morehead State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.