TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Aside from a brief lead early, the Stillman College men's basketball team had to play catchup most of the semifinal matchup against the Philander Smith University Panthers. However, PSU held off the Tigers to collect a 79-69 victory Saturday night in the HBCU Athletic Conference 2025 Hope Credit Union Basketball Championships in Birthright Alumni Hall.

Rapid Recap:

Philander Smith opened by outscoring the Tigers 16-8 during the first eight minutes of the ball game using tough, physical defense. Stillman battled back to get within six after a Brenden Lankford-Johnson three-ball moved the score to 33-27 with 4:24 left in the half. 

Despite the furious comeback attempt, PSU pushed ahead by 11 points after free throws from Dakhari Lewis pushed the score to 40-29 with 50 seconds left, which held as the halftime score.

Philander Smith built a 17-point lead on two occasions in the second half, with the latest coming at the 2:47 mark after a made bucket and free throw by Elijah Anderson to move the score to 74-57.

The Tigers made one last comeback attempt in the later moments of the second half and whittled the lead down to eight points after a layup from Jeremiah Miller moved the score to 77-69 with 31 seconds left.

However, the Tigers ran out of time, and free throws from Lewis clinched a 79-69 victory and upset for the fifth seeded Panthers over the top seed Stillman College. 

Notes and Numbers:
-Jeremiah Miller finished as the leading scorer with 19 points.
-Calvin Finch Jr. posted 18 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal. 
-Stillman shot 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from the three-point line, but just 38.3 percent (23-of-60) overall.

Up Next:
It's wait-and-see now for the Stillman College Tigers (18-11) as the team already has a bid in hand for the 2025 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy. The final 64-team field and bracket will be announced on Thursday, March 7, at 6 p.m. CT on the NAIA Network.