BIRMINGHAM, AL – Congratulation to Coach Sammy Jackson, his staff and the Fort Valley State University Wildcats basketball team for a great season and a hard fought championship game. The Wildcats had to overcome so mean obstacles this year in order to make it to Birmingham, but they made it and made Fort Valley State and the town of Fort Valley proud. Senior point guard Jalen Crawford played in his last game as a Wildcats as he led the team in scoring with 12 points in the lost to Clark Atlanta 64-62 Saturday night at the Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, AL.
 
The Wildcats finished the 2016-17 basketball campaign with a 12-18 overall record. Clark Atlanta ended the tournament with a 21-11 record.
 
Clark Atlanta will represent the SIAC in the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Division II Championship beginning on Friday, March 10. Selections for the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Division II Championship will be announced at 10:30 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, March 5 via web stream on NCAA.com.
 
Crawford scored on 6-of-16 shots from the field, had one rebound and three steals. Junior forward James Barnes led the Wildcats with a game-high 12 rebounds, nine points, made 3-of-4 free throws and blocked three shots. Senior forward Denard Williams followed with 11 boards, six points and went 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Senior center Kris Bell finished with nine points and six rebounds before fouling out.  Senior guard's Dekoven Ware and Ray Mobley had two and three points each. Junior guard's Jamaal Garror and J. R. Bryant collected eight and two points, while freshman forward Korbian Bell added one rebound. Sophomore guard's Tyler Edwards and Jaylon McMillan put up six and five points and Edwards also added five boards and a block.
 
FVSU scored on 24-of-63 baskets from the floor, made 2-of-11 three pointers and made 12-of-25 free throws. The Wildcats had 49 rebounds to Clark Atlanta's 33. FVSU had 36 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers, 19 points off second chance shots and 24 points from bench players. The game was tied 10 times and the lead changed nine.
 
Tim Sanders led Clark Atlanta in scoring with a game-high 16 points while Anthony Williams and Lawrance Triplett had 13 points apiece. Tajal Johnson grabbed seven boards and added seven points.   
 
The game came down to the last minute with the game tied at 60, Anthony Williams for Clark Atlanta made the front end of a one and one free throw for the 61-60 lead with 43 seconds left. Bell missed four straight free throws within a minute left that would have put the game out of reach but it was not to be. Crawford upped FVSU's lead 62-61 with 32 seconds left on the clock. The Panthers Chuka Eneh's 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining ended up being the final basket and a 64-62 win. Crawford had a good look at the basket with 2 seconds left but he missed the shot.   
 
The Wildcats fought hard in the first half as they went to halftime tied 29-29. Bell led the Wildcats with eight points and four rebounds, while Williams matched Bell with four rebounds and six points.
 
Williams' dunk scored the first points of the championship. Barnes' layup with 11:57 gave the Wildcats a 14-5 lead. Then with 6:19 left to half, Bell's jumper advanced FVSU's lead by 9 (19-10). Tajal Johnson made a layup for CAU with 4:37 to go cutting the lead to 26-21. The Panthers took a 28-27 lead for the first time since early in the half with 2:46 on the scoreboard. Bell once again tied the game at 29-29 with 1:50 left.