MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Martin Methodist Men's Basketball team shot 55 percent from the floor en route to a 74-64 victory over Blue Mountain (Miss.) College in the 2018 SSAC Men's Basketball Championship, presented by Newk's Eatery, Wednesday morning at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

The RedHawks (9-21) entered the tournament as the seventh seed and were forced to play on the tournament's opening day for the first time in program history. But the squad was up to the challenge as the RedHawks outscored the Toppers (6-19) by two at the break and led by as many as 18 late in the second half.

Three RedHawks finished the day in double-figures, led by Javonte Cooper's 14 points. Cooper shot 6-of-8 from the floor and tracked down a game-high eight rebounds.

Will Smith finished the game with 13 points on a 6-of-9 effort from the floor to go along with seven rebounds.

Jordan Ollison was the third RedHawk in double-figures as he finished with 11 points. Ollison and fellow backcourt mate Connor Peach both swished home a pair of 3-pointers to account for four of the team's five shots from distance.

As a team, the RedHawks connected on 29-of-53 shots for the day and held the Toppers to just 11 field goals in the second half.

Big man LaByron Harris led the Toppers with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, but guards Jaylon Bardley and Marcus Anthony combined for an icy 8-of-29 from the floor.

With the win, the RedHawks punched their ticket to Thursday's quarterfinal round. The RedHawks will meet No. 2 seed Dalton State (Ga.) College. The Roadrunners (22-7) and RedHawks split the regular-season series between the two clubs.

The RedHawks suffered a heartbreaking 69-67 loss to the Roadrunners in the semifinals of last year's conference tournament.

Tipoff in Thursday's contest is set for 2:15 p.m. at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.