Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The Christian Brothers University Buccaneers won the Gulf South Conference championship for the second time in school history Sunday afternoon with a 65-62 win over Valdosta State at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Bucs (21-8) led nearly the whole game after a 13-0 burst early in the first half. Trey Casey (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) sparked the run with back-to-back buckets, a three-pointer and a layup. Pat Graham (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green HS) followed with a triple and a layup of his own, and Cory McArthy (St. Louis, Mo./Christian Brothers College HS) capped the run with another trey that lifted the Bucs to a 20-10 lead with 10:31 remaining in the half.

After the Blazers (19-10) trimmed the lead to four, the Bucs went on a 17-7 run capped by a Graham three that gave the Bucs a 37-23 lead in the final seconds of the first half.  The Blazers quickly made a game of it in the second half, opening the half with back-to-back Shaquille Harris threes to cut the lead to single digits. A 9-0 run later pulled them within 43-41 with 11:54 remaining, but the Blazers never came closer than two until the final seconds. With 11.4 seconds remaining, VSU's Patrick Diop drove for a quick layup to cut the lead to 63-62.

The Blazers fouled McArthy, who sank both free throws to put the lead back to three points. With a three-point lead, the Bucs fouled Diop on purpose to send him to the line. After he missed his first free throw, he intentionally missed the second. Josh Sparks grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Harris in the corner, but his three-pointer at the buzzer missed.

Casey scored 19 points and tied his career-high with five steals as he earned Most Outstanding Player honors on the All-Tournament Team. Michael Drake (Little Rock, Ark./Catholic HS) joined him on the all-tournament team after scoring 12 points with six rebounds and five assists against just one turnover. Graham and McArthy scored 11 each, and Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) added 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds.

Sparks led the Blazers with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Harris scored 15. Diop added 12, and Alan Love tacked on 10.

For the game, the Bucs shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) to the Blazers' 42.1 percent (24-of-57). CBU shot 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from three-point range while holding the Blazers to 13.3 percent (2-of-13). The Bucs were a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe to Valdosta's 66.7 percent (12-of-18).

VSU dominated the boards, out-rebounding CBU 41-23, including a 20-8 edge in offensive rebounds. The Bucs forced 12 turnovers while committing just seven.

With the win, the Bucs clinch the GSC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, their fourth trip to the South Regional in the last six years. The NCAA Selection Show will be carried live at 9:30 p.m. tonight at NCAA.com.