COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (Interstat) — In a game defined by its frantic final seconds, the Southern Jaguars edged the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions 84-81 on Thursday night in the opening round of the SWAC men’s basketball tournament at Gateway Center Arena.

The contest, a rematch of a one-point Golden Lions victory just over six weeks prior, delivered even higher stakes and a nearly identical dramatic finish, this time favoring Southern.

The most critical sequence unfolded in the closing three seconds. With the game tied at 82, Southern’s Fazl Oshodi was fouled on the floor by Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Alex Mirhosseini with just three-tenths of a second remaining. Oshodi, a junior guard from Swedesboro, New Jersey, calmly sank both free throws to put the Jaguars ahead by two. Following a Southern timeout, Oshodi was substituted out for defensive purposes. On the ensuing inbounds play, Southern’s Michael Jacobs blocked a desperation three-point attempt by Mirhosseini as time expired, sealing the victory for the Jaguars.

The final moments capped a back-and-forth second half that saw neither team lead by more than seven points. Southern, the home team by tournament designation, improved to 16-15 overall. Arkansas-Pine Bluff concluded its season at 13-19.

The Jaguars were propelled by a balanced offensive effort. Fazl Oshodi led the team with 18 points, including the decisive free throws. Malek Abdelgowad, a 6-foot-10 forward from Cairo, Egypt, provided a massive spark off the bench, scoring 17 points in just 16 minutes of action. Cam Amboree added 14 points and five assists, while AJ Barnes chipped in 10 points.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff was carried by the standout performance of Quion Williams. The junior guard from Jonesboro, Arkansas, played all but 20 seconds of the game, finishing with 21 points, five assists and a game-high four steals. His backcourt mate, Alex Mirhosseini, scored 15 points. The Golden Lions’ interior presence, Jaquan Scott, battled foul trouble but managed 20 points and six rebounds.

Southern led 39-37 at halftime, but Arkansas-Pine Bluff quickly seized momentum after the break. A three-pointer from Trevon Payton gave the Golden Lions a 42-39 lead early in the second period, setting the stage for a tense tug-of-war.

The Jaguars built a 71-64 advantage with under six minutes to play following a three-pointer from Amboree. Arkansas-Pine Bluff responded with a 12-5 run, capped by a Mirhosseini three-pointer with 2:18 remaining, to knot the score at 76.

Southern answered with a Terrance Dixon dunk, but Williams scored on a driving layup to again tie the game at 78. After a series of empty possessions, Williams put the Golden Lions ahead 81-80 on another layup with just six seconds left.

Southern advanced the ball quickly, and Amboree was fouled by Ramel Lloyd with 1.3 seconds on the clock. Amboree made both free throws to give Southern an 82-81 lead, setting the stage for the final, fateful foul on Oshodi.

The game was played before an announced crowd of 912 at the neutral-site arena. Southern, which entered the game with an 80.7% probability to win according to Interstat’s ELO system, advances to face Florida A&M in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s season comes to an end.