(Marietta, Ga) The magic that has been with the Southern Polytechnic Men's Basketball team during this year just continues to keep working. March 7, the Hornets defeated Faulkner University in the championship game of the Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference basketball tournament by a score of 84-72. It was the first conference tournament championship for SPSU since the 1987 season. The Hornets completed the "sweep" of the GACC by winning both the regular season championship and the tournament championship.

Southern Polytechnic will move on to the National Tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma beginning March 14. The pairings will be announced March 8 at 6:00pm. SPSU improved its record to 27-6 overall and should receive a very high seed in the National Tournament. Faulkner University and Brewton-Parker College also received bids to Tulsa. Three teams from the GACC shows the balance and competitiveness of the league.

The final started slow for the Hornets. Faulkner seemed quicker and more determined than the Hornets as they jumped out to a 20-14 lead with 10:00 gone in the opening half. SPSU could not find any rhythm on offense and that seemed to affect their defense. Faulkner found many open driving lanes that led to easy baskets. The Eagles shot a sizzling 61% from the floor and ended the half on a 12-2 run that gave them a 40-32 advantage at the break.

"My main comments at halftime were about guarding the ball and working at the defensive end. We have been so active on defense all year and that just wasn't the case in the first half last night," said SPSU Head Coach Mike Helfer.

The second half was a different story. SPSU stormed out of the gate and quickly caught the Eagles at 44 apiece. The Hornets defense was smothering as they forced Faulkner into 13 second half turnovers and 23 for the game. There was no slowing down as SPSU built a 13 point lead at 65-52 with 7:00 left to play. The Hornet's Duriel Coleman led the second half charge by scoring 22 of his game high 24 points in the second stanza. Faulkner's second half field goal percentage was a dismal 29% and 14% from three-point land.

The Hornets continued their fine play down the stretch as they kept their lead at 13 with only 2:10 to play. In the final minute, Faulkner hit some desperation threes to get within 7 at 79-72, but Coleman connected on three of four free throws to end any comeback bid.

"The credit goes to our kids. They showed a tremendous amount of character tonight and that carried us in the second half. They made all of the plays, especially on the defensive end of floor," said SPSU Head Coach Mike Helfer. "A big factor tonight was the crowd and our students. To see our students with their faces painted, hair dyed green, and standing throughout the game was a huge lift for our guys. Not only did the students get us going, all of our supporters were loud and a big part of our second half comeback."

SPSU placed 4 players in double digits and were led by Duriel Coleman. Coleman finished with 24 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. It was Coleman's best all around game of the year. "Duriel played very well tonight, but in reality, all of our guys played well and contributed in the second half," said Helfer.

Shuron Washington had 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting, including 4 of 6 from three point land. Perry Mattis and Duwand Jackson both had 11 for the Hornets.

SPSU shot 46% from the floor and 56% from the arc. Faulkner finished with 42% from 2's and 36% from the three point line. The Hornets had 17 steals on the night and 6 blocks.

Southern Polytechnic made it to the final game with two dominating performances. In their opening round game, they defeated Shorter College by 32 points, 105-73. In the semi-final game against Georgia Southwestern, SPSU won 94-74 to advance to the final game.