BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For the first time since 2016, the West Georgia Wolves men's basketball team are Gulf South Conference Tournament Champions, defeating Alabama Huntsville in Sunday's title game by a 75-69 final.

West Georgia (26-5) led for the final 22 minutes of the game, and led by as much as 14 over Alabama Huntsville (21-10) on their way to clinching a conference tournament and regular season title in the same season for the first time since the 1986-87 season. The GSC hasn't had a team win the regular season and tournament title in the same season since UAH in 2015.

"This feels really good," said head coach Dave Moore. "This is another big step forward for the program. I thought that we were the best team in this league the whole year and we had the opportunity to prove it today. Alabama Huntsville, all props to them. They're a really good team and they're really well coached."

The Wolves shot 41.1 percent from the field including 11-for-26 from the three-point line while holding the Chargers to 39.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Alabama Huntsville hit triples on each of their opening possessions before Donatlan put the Wolves on the board one minute into the game. Donatlan's three out of the first media timeout gave the Wolves their first lead of the game at 12-11 just under five minutes in.

Out of the under 12 timeout, the Wolves went on a 12-6 run to grab their largest lead of the half at 28-22 at the 7:25 mark of the opening half. UAH then went on a 7-0 run to reclaim a 29-28 lead. \

In a half that featured seven lead changes, four of them came in the final four minutes of the half. UAH's Jack Kostel hit a three to tie it up at 34-34 late in the half, but Donatlan, who along with Jackson had 10 first half points, hit a three of his own to put the Wolves up 37-34 at the halftime break.

Jackson scored the first points of the second half, burying a long-range three-pointer to give the Wolves another six-point lead. 

A Marlon Smith three-pointer at the 14:41 mark, followed by a steal and bucket from Kolten Griffin gave the Wolves an eight-point lead, and by the under-12 media timeout, the lead was nine at 54-45. Jackson hit a long-range two on the Wolves' first possession out of the timeout, pushing the Wolves' lead to double-digits for the first time in the game.

Kolten Griffin, who had zero first half points, heated up in the second half, and his putback at the 8:35 mark gave the junior six points and stretched the lead to 14 points.

By the final media timeout of the game, UAH had clawed back to an eight-point deficit with the Wolves up 67-59. UAH buried a three-pointer from Dalton Dodd right out of the break to get the Chargers back to five, but Smith hit a jump hook in the lane to answer, followed by a stop and a Griffin three to put the Wolves back up 10, and forcing Huntsville to take a timeout with UWG's advantage at 72-62 with 1:45 to play.

UAH made one last basket at 15 seconds left to get the deficit to five, but Jackson put the game away at the free throw line, and UWG closed out their first tournament title since 2016.

Jackson, who was named the Tournament's most outstanding player finished with a game-high 23 points while Smith had 16, Griffin had 11, all in the second half, and Camron Donatlan finished with 10.

"We made enough plays to win today and I'm just so proud of our guys," coach Moore continued. "They stuck with it, they battled, and we made enough plays to win and now we're champions again!"

West Georgia received the automatic bid into the NCAA South Regional, so there won't be drama in tonight's selection show, but the Wolves will find out who they will play in the tournament's opening round. The show can be viewed tonight at 11 p.m. EST, on NCAA.com.