After more than two decades without a tournament crown, Morehouse College has finally returned to the top of Southern college basketball.
The Maroon Tigers defeated Tuskegee University 66–56 on March 7 to win the 2026 men’s tournament organized by the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The final game took place at the Clayton County Convocation Center in Georgia.
The victory ended a long wait for the Atlanta-based school. The last time Morehouse lifted the SIAC tournament trophy was in 2003.
This year’s team entered the competition as the top seed and finished the season with a strong 22–9 record. The win also made history for first-year head coach Larry Dixon, who became the first coach in the program to record 22 victories in his first season leading the team.
The championship run was powered by several standout players. Josiah Lawson was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Teammates Since Moore and JerMontae Hill were also selected to the SIAC All-Tournament Team after strong performances during the competition.
Another milestone came off the court. Athletic director Harold Ellis became the first person from Morehouse to win both the conference regular-season title and the tournament championship with the school first as a player years ago and now as an administrator.
The title has now pushed Morehouse into the national stage. The team will appear in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2018.
Morehouse enters the national tournament as the No. 8 seed in the South Regional and will face the region’s top team, Nova Southeastern University. That game will be played at Rick Case Arena in Davie, Florida.
The national tournament begins with first- and second-round games on March 14 and 15. Regional finals are set for March 17, while the Elite Eight will be played from March 25 to 27. The championship game is scheduled for April 5.