JACKSON, Miss. – Darrion Griffin scored five of his 22 points in the final five minutes to help Jackson State beat Alabama State 67-64 Thursday night at the Lee E. William Athletic Complex.

Maxey Grant scored 18 points, and Jeremy Caldwell and Melvin Rod added 11 points each for the Tigers (15-14, 14-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference).

Brandon Brooks scored 15 points for the Hornets (18-9, 15-2).  Andrew Hayles tallied 12 points and Roland Fitch added 11.

Despite the loss, the Hornets still hold the No. 1 seed for the SWAC postseason tournament, which begins March 11 in Birmingham. Jackson State is currently the No. 2 seed.

In the first half of play the Hornets were down by as many as 14 points (20-6). But ASU chopped Jackson State's lead to nine before the half (37-28).

ASU collected 11 fouls to JSU's four in the first half. The Tigers were 8-of-13 from the free-throw line while ASU missed both of its free-throw attempts.

In the second half, ASU was whistled for 13 fouls to JSU's six but still managed to outscore the Tigers 36-30. The Hornets closed to within two points of the Tigers with 6:18 on the clock. Three minutes later, Hayles hit a 3-point shot to cut Jackson State's lead to one point.

Two Caldwell free throws sealed the victory for the Tigers, who could grab a share of the regular-season championship if they beat Alabama A&M (8-17, 6-11) on Saturday and ASU loses to Grambling State (6-22, 4-13).

Tip-off for the Hornets' final regular season game is set for 7:30 p.m. in Grambling, La.