MONTGOMERY, Ala. — William Carey opened its SSAC Tournament run in commanding fashion Thursday night, delivering a wire-to-wire 99–86 victory over Tennessee Southern at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
 
The Crusaders set the tone early. After Javeon Gordon opened the scoring with a three, Arzika Seibou added another at the 17-minute mark to give Carey an 8–4 lead. Momentum continued to build as Randarius Hughes grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a put-back, followed by back-to-back threes from Malik Franklin to extend the lead to 18–8 with under 13 minutes remaining.
 
Tennessee Southern fought to stay within striking distance, using drives from De'Marreon Baldwin and Mike Bell to trim the margin to 32–26 with six minutes left in the half. But Carey quickly pushed the lead back to double digits. Anthony Richards stretched the advantage to nine, and Roberts drilled another three to make it 43–31.
 
The Firehawks continued to claw back, with Jack Harper hitting a pair of threes to cut the deficit late in the period. Still, they could get no closer than six as Anthony Robinson and Seibou each sank free throws, sending Carey into halftime up 55–44.
 
The Crusaders came out of the break with renewed defensive intensity, capitalizing on back-to-back turnovers to grow the lead. Robinson knocked down four straight free throws as part of a 6–2 run that kept Carey comfortably on top.
 
Baldwin kept UT-Southern in the game with several driving layups, and Antonio Cochran provided a spark with three straight baskets—narrowing the margin to 61–56 with 13 minutes to play. But Carey responded immediately. Roberts scored on a tough layup, and Franklin added another basket to regain control.
 
The turning point came midway through the half, when Franklin and Roberts buried consecutive threes, pushing the lead to 73–62. Robinson then converted an and-one to help stretch the cushion to 79–65.
 
UT-Southern made one final push, trimming the deficit to single digits on a Cochran three with five minutes remaining. But Carey delivered the knockout blow moments later: Roberts drained a three, then added a jumper to put the Crusaders back up by double digits. Gordon added another long-range make, and Franklin sealed the game with his seventh three-pointer, setting a new season-high scoring mark.
 
Franklin led all scorers with a career-high 35 points on 13-for-21 shooting, including eight made threes. Roberts added 18 points and six steals, Robinson contributed 16 points, and Gordon finished with 13.
 
William Carey advances to Friday's semifinal, where they will face the winner of Life vs. Loyola. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.