The Firehawks and Skyhawks traded blows early in a tightly contested first half that featured five lead changes. After falling behind 2–0, De'Marreon Baldwin got UT Southern on the board with a jumper at the 18:17 mark. Eric Robinson followed with a layup and free throw to give the Firehawks a 5–4 edge, and Jack Harper drilled a three-pointer off a Robinson assist to extend the lead to 8–6.
Antonio Cochran attacked the paint for a layup at 16:38 to push the margin to four, but Point answered with a run midway through the half to take a nine-point lead at 32–23. UT Southern responded with composure. Robinson converted back-to-back buckets in the paint, Daniel Reyes finished inside off a Baldwin assist, and Baldwin sparked a late surge with free throws and a fast-break layup. With the final possession of the half, Robinson picked off a steal and converted at the buzzer to give UT Southern a 37–36 lead at the break.
The second half was just as intense. Baldwin opened the scoring from the free-throw line, and Mike Bell, Jr. buried a three-pointer at 17:20 to stretch the lead to 42–39. Robinson then scored on consecutive possessions, including a fast-break layup, to push the Firehawks' advantage to seven at 46–39.
Point continued to battle and eventually knotted the game at 59–59 with under 10 minutes to play. Harper responded with two clutch free throws and a jumper to spark a 4–0 burst. Luke Lentz added a key mid-range jumper at 7:32 to make it 65–62, and Cochran returned to the floor to steady the offense.
With the score tied at 72–72 late, Baldwin attacked the rim for a critical layup at 4:31. Cochran took over down the stretch, knocking down four consecutive free throws inside the final four minutes and adding a putback layup at the 3:14 mark to stretch the lead to five. Harper sealed the win at the line in the final 25 seconds, and Baldwin added one final free throw with six seconds remaining.
Robinson led UT Southern with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting while adding eight rebounds and four assists. Baldwin also scored 15 points and grabbed three steals. Harper finished with 14 points, including two three-pointers and key late free throws, while Cochran added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a late block. Bell, Jr. contributed 12 points and six rebounds, and Reyes added six points. JaMil Wilson chipped in four points and five rebounds off the bench.
UT Southern advances to the SSAC Quarterfinals and will face West No. 1 seed and nationally ranked No. 17 William Carey on Thursday, February 26 at 6:15 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala.
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