Grambling wins its first NCAA Tournament game, defeating Montana State in overtime

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Jimel Cofer scored all 19 points in the second half and overtime and Grambling State rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Montana State 88-81 and secure the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history in Top 4 on Wednesday night.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Tigers (21-14) advance because the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region to play No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.

“Amazing. That’s what March is made of, baby,” Grambling State coach Donte’ Jackson said. “You’ve got to find a way to fight, stay in the game and play that last game.”

Montana State’s Robert Ford III made his fifth three-pointer of the sport to tie the rating at 78 for the Big Sky Conference tournament champions with 2:02 left in overtime, but Grambling secured eight straight points from the free throw line.

Montana State (17-18) went 1 of 6 in the ultimate 1:27, failing to win its first NCAA Tournament game in its sixth attempt.

Burnett and Jourdan Smith each scored 18 points for the Tigers.

Grambling State, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance despite being 2-10 early in the season, surged in the second half, occurring a 21-6 run to erase a 42-33 halftime deficit. Cofer, who didn’t play in the first half, ran onto the court on a 6-0 individual run to offer the Tigers their first lead of the second half, 60-59, with 5:47 left in regulation.

With 34 seconds left, Cofer tied the rating at 72, and Montana State’s Brandon Walker missed a possible penalty kick with 9 seconds left, sending the rating to overtime.

Montana State shot 63% in the first half and held a lead of as many as 14 in the NCAA tournament for the third straight 12 months.

“There were some definite changes in the dynamic,” Montana State coach Matt Logie said.

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Ford had 26 points to guide Montana State. Brian Goracke added 15 and Brandon Walker 14.

“I just want to say I understand how hard it is to get here,” said Ford, who made six 3-pointers. “There are a whole lot of great players in the league. There are a lot of great bands. The most significant part is knowing what it takes to get here, and when you get here, what it seems like.

The First Four went to overtime for the first time since 2022, when Notre Dame beat Rutgers 89-87 in double overtime.

FIRST DANCE

Grambling participated in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its 47-year history.

“What this means for our program, to be completely honest, is an understatement,” Jackson said. “Just let these guys know, once they could have gone to all the opposite big schools and stuff like that, that they made the proper selection coming to Grambling. And I’m really grateful, simply to all of our guys which are here, how they prepared today and the way they played.

CLUTCH CAP

Cofer scored a team-high 13 points in the second half and 6 in overtime. He didn’t spend any time on the court in the first half and didn’t play in Saturday’s SWAC championship game.

“I tried to stay closed the whole time,” Cofer said. “Even when I’m not playing, I’m focused on the game because I know my name will be called eventually. When I get out there, I have to do what I have to do.”

HALF-TIME ADJUSTMENTS

The Tigers trailed by double digits in each halves and by as many as 14 points in the second half.

“At half-time we were back where we were before. We knew what we had to do,” Cofer said. “We played a major schedule during the regular season, so it wasn’t anything new.”

DEEP BENCH

Grambling had 4 players in double figures and Mika Stevenson added 10.

“Researching and looking at performances is one thing,” Jackson said. “The other thing for them is to run the play on the pace they run it and shoot the ball on the pace they shoot it. But ultimately we focused on it and these guys found a technique to do it. “