It came down to a Hail Mary play—and that’s all it took for Alabama State University to take home their first tournament win in school history.
The first four games of the NCAA college basketball tournament kicked off Tuesday night with a nail-biter between Alabama State and Saint Francis (Pa.).
With 3.4 seconds left to play and the game tied 68-68, Micah Simpson launched a Hail Mary throw from the other end of the court. While the ball was tipped into the air, it landed in the hands of Amarr Knox, who was able to go in for a layup and ultimately win the game.
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“WELCOME TO THE MADNESS, FOLKS!” CBS Sports captioned a video clip on Instagram showing the final play, followed by St. Francis players holding their heads in disbelief.
“I legit just picked my jaw up off the floor,” one user commented.
Another wrote, “God I love March.”
Following the game, a fired-up Alabama State head coach Tony Madlock told his players, “We ain’t through. Let’s keep playing! I am so proud. First tournament win in Alabama history, baby! … Let’s just keep doin’ it. Let’s fly around and have fun. I want to have fun. That’s all we gonna do, man.”
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A video shared by the team on social media after the big win showed Knox, who made the game-winning basket, advancing the team on a huge March Madness bracket in the locker room while his teammates cheered.
“Just keep dancing,” the caption read, alluding to the tournament’s’ famed “The Big Dance” moniker, which is often attributed to a quote from Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire, whose team took home the championship in 1977.
It wasn’t the only win for a Southern school on the opening night of play. UNC steamrolled San Diego State in a 95-68 win after critics wondered loudly whether the team, who went 1-12 in Quad 1 games this season, should even be included in the tournament.
Alabama State, which is located in Montgomery, moves on to play top-seeded Auburn in the Round of 64 Thursday at 1:50 CT on CBS. Though they nabbed the No. 1 ranking, the Tigers have lost three of their last four games despite starting the season 27-2.
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Will Alabama State be the Cinderella team at this ball?
Read the original article on Southern Living
