We can only hope that the first game of the tournament is a sign of things to come.

Tied with about 2 minutes, Amari Knox drove the lane and threw up a ridiculous shot as he tried to draw a foul that went high in the air and somehow went into the basket to give Alabama State a 2 point lead. Then, Micah Octave stole the ball and came back to dunk the ball to give the Hornets a 4 point lead.

But St. Francis would not give up – Juan Cranford Jr and Chris Moncrief hit two three pointers (while TJ Madlock hit a layup for the Hornets) to tie the game with 40 seconds.

Alabama State held the ball to the end of the shot clock but Knox missed his layup, and in a frenzy for the loose ball, Madlock got the rebound and got tackled for a foul. TJ missed the free throw and the Red Flash stormed up the court, but the ball got hit around midcourt, was picked up by Cranford Jr, who also lost control of the ball as it rolled out setting the stage.

With 3 seconds left, Micah Simpson throw a baseball pass the length of the court, gets touched by multiple players trying to get the ball and falls into the hands of Amari Knox under the basket all alone. Knox calmly goes up and hits the layup with a second left to give Alabama State their first ever NCAA Tournament victory.

It is why I love March – you could get the best hollywood writers, and they probably couldn’t come up with a crazier finish to the game. Congratulations to the Hornets who will hopefully get a little tome tonight to celebrate tonight before heading to Lexington to have to play Auburn.