Mississippi Valley holds on in SWAC GARLAND, Texas, March 10 (UPI) -- Kevin Burwell led Mississippi Valley to a 19-point cushion in the second half Saturday and the Delta Devils won an NCAA berth by downing Texas Southern 71-69. A late rally by Texas Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament fell short with the Tigers cutting their final deficit to two on a 3-point shot from Omar Strong just before the buzzer. Strong scored 30 points for the Tigers, hitting eight 3-point shots. Mississippi Valley (21-10) earned its first trip to the NCAA tourney in four years. The Devils hope to improve on their last NCAA game in which they were blasted by UCLA 70-29. Burwell scored 19 points, Brent Arrington added 12 for Mississippi Valley and William Pugh had 10. Texas Southern, which finished second to the regular-season champion Devils in the conference race, ended its campaign at 15-18.