Michael Jacobs’ Buzzer-Beater Lifts Southern Past Florida A&M 73–70 in SWAC Thriller

By: Raymond Forte

Florida A&M set the tone early, striking first with an alley oop dunk and a hook shot from Tyler Shirley to grab a quick 4–0 lead in the opening minute. Southern quickly responded by turning defensive pressure into offense. The Jaguars forced several Florida A&M turnovers and capitalized with a strong run midway through the first half.

Fazl Oshodi ignited the surge with a pull up jumper followed by a fast break three, while P.J. Dobuol and Terrance Dixon Jr. added points in the paint as Southern pushed ahead 12–4.

Southern’s depth continued to show as the first half progressed. Joe Manning connected on a three pointer, Michael Jacobs added another from long range, and Lionel Bell finished a layup to stretch the Jaguars’ advantage to 26–12.

Florida A&M refused to let the game get out of reach. Tyler Shirley led the charge with help from Antonio Baker and Micah Octave, who combined for transition baskets, second chance opportunities, and late perimeter shots. Their push cut what had been a double digit deficit down to 43–37 at halftime.

Florida A&M carried that momentum into the second half.

The Rattlers came out with renewed energy, steadily chipping away at the lead behind Shirley’s presence inside, Jaquan Sanders’ perimeter play, and Octave’s scoring. Florida A&M eventually took its first lead since the opening minutes when Sanders converted two free throws to make it 44–43, completing a comeback from 14 points down.

From there, the game turned into a back and forth battle with multiple lead changes and ties.

Southern responded each time Florida A&M made a push. Dixon Jr. energized the Jaguars with powerful dunks, Cam Amboree contributed with a transition bucket and a three pointer, and Jacobs continued to provide timely offense.

Still, the Rattlers would not go away. Kaleb Washington scored inside and at the foul line, Baker attacked in transition, and Shirley tied the game at 70–70 with a layup in the closing seconds.

That set up the final possession.

With the clock winding down, Southern put the ball in the hands of Michael Jacobs. Jacobs delivered, knocking down a deep three with 0.6 seconds remaining to lift the Jaguars to a thrilling 73–70 victory.

Southern now advances to face Prairie View A&M in the SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST.