ATLANTA, Ga. (February 24, 2023) – The Cage Center on the campus of Berry College will serve as the stage for the 2023 SAA Men’s Basketball Championship weekend.

SAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
The four top-seeds cruised out of the quarterfinal round with a 22.2 points average margin of victory. Regular season champion Berry will meet four-seed Birmingham-Southern in the first semifinal on Saturday. Two-seed Rhodes and No. 3 Sewanee are set to meet in the second semifinal with the championship game slated for Sunday, February 26 at 2 p.m.
 
Semifinal 1 – No. 1 Berry vs. No. 4 Birmingham-Southern – Saturday, February 25 at 3 p.m.
Berry posted just the second 14-0 conference regular season in SAA history. The Vikings needed overtime to get past BSC in the first match-up, 89-81. Blake Campbell went 10-of-11 from the field with four 3-pointers and scored 30 to lead Berry. Owen Honroth added 16 while Riley Costas had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. Jay Gillispie topped the Panthers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. In the second clash, Berry posted a convincing 91-71 win. Chase Ellis netted 22 and grabbed six rebounds in the winning effort while Gillispie tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds for BSC.
 
The Vikings handled Centre 86-64 in its quarterfinal. Michael Johnson exploded for 32 points off the bench, draining eight 3-pointers. Ellis added 14 points and 11 rebounds. On the season, Ellis is putting gup 14.9 points a game, leading Berry and ranking fifth in the SAA, while also hauling in seven rebounds a game. Blake Campbell is putting up 11.9 points a night and Braxton Benham scores 11.5 a game.
 
BSC powered past Hendrix 94-67 in its tournament opener. Cam Glover scored 22 to lead four Panthers in double figures. Martise Jackson and Gillispie both scored 15 and Josh Childers netted 12. Cam Glover tops the season box score with 17.2 points a game. Childers averages 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds while Gillispie contributes 12.1 points and a BSC-best 9.2 rebounds an outing.
 
Semifinal 2 – No. 2 Rhodes vs. No. 3 Sewanee – Saturday, February 25 at 5 p.m.
Rhodes and Sewanee split the season series with each winning on its home court. The Tigers snuck past the Lynx 64-63 in the first match-up. Colin Kahl led Sewanee with 27 points while Tre Corrigan and Russ Marr both netted 11. Jalen Essick was the top Lynx scorer with 20 points. In Memphis a few weeks later, Rhodes posted an 82-76 win. Phil Dotson put up 17 off the bench to pace the Lynx while Koki Wiley put up 14 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists.
 
The Lynx put up the second-most points ever in a SAA Tournament game, beating Millsaps 100-73 last Sunday. Dotson netted 25 and Hayden Lamey scored 16, both off the bench. The freshman tops Rhodes’ season box score with 14.9 points a game. Essick is scoring 14.7 a game and Wiley adds 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds a game.
 
Sewanee posted an 87-74 win over Oglethorpe in its first round game. Kahl led the way with 26 points and nine rebounds with. Marr netted 18 and Luka Avaliani added 16 points and eight rebounds. All five starters tallied double digit points. Marr is the top scorer in the SAA with 21.2 points a game. Kahl is averaging 16.1 points and 6.6 rebounds a night while Tre Corrigan is getting 11.5 points a game.
 
Fans can follow the SAA men’s basketball tournament with live links on the Tournament Central page at SAA-Sports.com.