MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's basketball team continued their quest for a Southern States Athletic Conference title sweep with an 70-54 win over Mobile on Friday. The Firehawks inch one step closer to their first SSAC Tournament crown since 2014. #12 UT Southern (26-5) started out on a heater starting up a 13-0 lead after six minutes, and held Mobile without a field goal for the opening 7:12. The Firehawks hot shooting opened up a 20-point lead half way through the opening stanza. The Rams answered back with an 11-0 over the next four minutes, but UT Southern held UM to two points for the final minutes of the first half. UTS led 36-21 at the break.

In the final half the Firehawk lead would hover between 19-23 points for the duration of the half. UM outrebounded the Firehawks 39-32. UTS forced 15 UM turnovers and held the challengers to 35 percent shooting and one of 13 from range.

Tad Sivley led the attack with 17 points and six rebounds. Mark Vance added 12 points and four boards. Adarion Hudson tossed in 11 points with three assists.

NEXTUP

The Firehawks will battle WolfPack tomorrow for the SSAC Tournament Championship. Championship day tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m., tomorrow in Montgomery, Ala. UT Southern and Loyola both have earned automatic bids into the NAIA Championship.

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