The 2025 NCAA Tournament kicked off in earnest Tuesday in epic fashion as Alabama State stunned Saint Francis in the first game of the First Four with a last-second shot to take down the Panthers, 70-68. The Hornets ran an inbounds play with 3.4 seconds remaining and scored on the other end off a Hail Mary pass that was deflected right into the hands of Amarr Knox for the go-ahead jumper.
Alabama State’s full-court pass bounced right into traffic with two defenders positioned to bat down the ball from two Alabama State players. But Knox was right there to collect the clean-up under the basket and calmly delivered the dagger as the clock bled down to under a second.
“We wanted to throw the ball in long, and we put our tallest, most athletic person to go get the ball,” Knox said after the game. “Fortunately, the ball landed with me, I got the rebound and made the layup.”
Knox finished the game with a team-high 16 points and had 10 of them in the second half as the Hornets dug out of a nine-point deficit for the win.
Alabama State, a No. 16 seed, advances from the First Four to the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament with the win and will face No. 1 overall seed Auburn on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky. The game will tip at approximately 2:50 p.m. ET on CBS.
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