MOUNT BERRY, Ga. (February 26, 2023) - A two-point Sewanee deficit with 12 seconds left turned into a four-point victory as the three-seed Tigers upset top-seed Berry 86-82 in the Southern Athletic Association Men's Basketball Tournament championship.

With Sewanee trailing by two, Russ Marr (6'3''-G) drew a foul to earn a pair at the line. He made the first and missed the second, but Graham Smith (6'3''-G/F) snared the rebound and kicked it to Tre Corrigan who then calmly drained a long three-pointer that put the Tigers on top 84-82. Berry couldn't get a shot up in a frantic race down the court and Luka Avaliani (6'4''-G/F-2003) put an exclamation point on the title at the buzzer, sending Sewanee into the NCAA Tournament.

Marr scored 31 points and was named the tournament MVP. He was 9-of-14 from the field and 11-12 at the free throw line with his lone miss leading to Corrigan's game winner. Colin Kahl (6'7''-F) netted 27 and was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Avaliani tallied 12 points and eight rebounds with Corrigan ending the night with 11 points.

Chase Ellis (6'2''-G/F) was also named to the All-Tournament team and led Berry with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Campbell (6'4''-G) recorded 14 points and four rebounds while Braxton Benham (6'0''-PG) and Owen Honroth (6'4''-G) tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Ranked No. 22 in the nation, Berry ends its season at 25-3 while Sewanee (19-9) takes the SAA's automatic qualifier into the postseason.

The game was close throughout with the scrappy Tigers taking a 42-41 lead into the locker room.

The Vikings looked like they would pull away midway through the second with a Benham conventional three-point play putting the hosts up 58-49 with 13:32 to play. Sewanee answered with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to pull to within one.

Berry built its advantage back to seven, 80-73 with under three minutes to play before Marr scored the game's next five points to again make it a one-possession game with 1:01 left. Campbell brought the house down with a backdoor dunk to again make it a four-point game. Marr drew a foul and connected on both from the line to make the score 82-80 with 28 seconds left.

Berry missed the front end of a one-and-one before Marr drew another foul late, setting up the wild, closing sequence.

Courtesy of saa-sports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Russ Marr (6'3''-G) of Sewanee
Player of the Year: Chase Ellis (6'2''-G/F) of Berry
Defensive Player of the Year: Braxton Benham (6'0''-PG) of Berry
Newcomer of the Year: Cade Stinnett (6'3''-G) of Centre
Coach of the Year: Mick Hedgepeth of Berry

All-SAA First Team 2023

Ellis

Essick

Ezigbo

Marr

Wiley

First Team
Chase Ellis (6'2''-G/F) of Berry
Jalen Essick (6'5''-F) of Rhodes
Uba Ezigbo (6'3''-F) of Oglethorpe
Colin Kahl (6'7''-F) of Sewanee
Russ Marr (6'3''-G) of Sewanee
Koki Wiley (6'3''-G) of Rhodes

Second Team
Braxton Benham (6'0''-PG) of Berry
Josh Childers (6'8''-F) of BSC
Tyler Deithloff (6'5''-F) of Hendrix
Jay Gillispie (6'5''-F) of BSC
Cade Stinnett (6'3''-G) of Centre

Honorable Mention
Blake Campbell (6'4''-G) of Berry
Riley Costas (6'4''-G) of Berry
Michael Johnson (5'10''-PG) of Berry
Owen Honroth (6'4''-G) of Berry
Colten Berry (6'7''-F) of Hendrix
Caleb Squires (6'2''-G) of Hendrix
Jordan James (6'3''-G) of Oglethorpe
Doug Watson (5'10''-PG) of Millsaps
Philip Dotson (6'0''-PG) of Rhodes
Jefferson Walker (6'0''-PG) of Rhodes
Luka Avaliani (6'4''-G/F-2003) of Sewanee
Tre Corrigan (6'0''-PG) of Sewanee

All-Tournament Team
Russ Marr (6'3''-G) of Sewanee
Colin Kahl (6'7''-F) of Sewanee
Chase Ellis (6'2''-G/F) of Berry
Philip Dotson (6'0''-PG) of Rhodes
Cameron Glover (6'1''-G) of BSC