MVSU 71, Texas Southern 69 updated 10:34 p.m. GARLAND, Texas (AP) - Kevin Burwell scored 19 points and Mississippi Valley State won the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament and earned an automatic NCAA bid, holding on for a 71-69 victory over Texas Southern on Saturday night. The Delta Devils (21-12) are going to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time, and first since 2008. Mississippi Valley led throughout, and was up by as many as 20 points with 8 minutes to go. Texas Southern (15-18) cut that to three in the final minute before Brent Arrington hit a clutch 3-pointer from the right corner in front of his teammates on the MVSU bench with 21 seconds left for a 70-64 lead. Omar Strong had 30 points for Texas Southern, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that was his eighth of the game. Dexter Ellington had 10 points, while Aaron Clayborn grabbed 10 rebounds. Arrington had 12 points, while William Pugh had 10. MVSU led 55-35 when Pugh made a 3-pointer with 8:12 left, but the Delta Devils weren't safe yet. Strong hit six of his 3-pointers after that. Texas Southern in the second half shot an astounding 64 percent overall (16 of 25) and on 3-pointers (9 of 14) while scoring 52. That was after the Tigers trailed 26-17 at halftime. Arrington pumped his fist furiously after making his 3-pointer. Ellington and Strong both then missed 3-pointers, with Ellington grabbing Strong's miss and scoring on a short putback basket with 5 seconds left. Cor-J Cox was immediate fouled and made his first free throw. After the Tigers missed the first shot of the game, Burwell had a rebound and turned that into a breakaway layup. Burwell had another layup in an opening 10-3 run. While the scoring was much tougher to come by for both teams before halftime, the players got chippy at one point. Valley had an 18-12 lead when Pugh had a breakaway one-handed slam with 5 minutes left in the first half. After that score, there was contact between an obviously agitated Strong, a 176-pound guard, and 245-pound Valley forward Paul Crosby. All the players in the game wound up in a group on the floor, with Texas Southern coach Tony Harvey coming off the bench to get between them. After officials looked at a replay and handed out two technical fouls, to Crosby and Texas Southern's Daniel King, play resumed. Burwell hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first half.