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HUNTSVILLE, AL. – For 38 minutes, the Benedict College Tigers stood toe-to-toe with the nation's second-ranked basketball team.

But in the final two minutes, the University of Alabama-Huntsville showed exactly why they are one of the top teams in the country by taking control down the stretch and escaping Benedict's upset threat with a 69-61 victory on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament.

Benedict stayed close to the Chargers the entire game, and a Marcus Goode layup cut the lead to 61-60 with 2:58 left to play. On Alabama-Huntsville's next possession, Jamie Smith, who led the Chargers with 23 points, drove to the basket with the shot clock winding down and was fouled. He hit both free throws with 2:19 to play to give the Chargers a 63-60 lead.

After Trevor Eichelberger hit one of two free throws with 1:32 left in the game to make it 63-61, the Chargers put the ball in the hands of their All-American point guard Josh Megette, who cut through the Benedict defense and scored on a driving layup with 58 seconds left for a 65-61 lead.

Eichelberger missed a 3-pointer on the other end for the Tigers and the Chargers tacked on another free throw. Then back-to-back Benedict turnovers, sandwiched around two more Alabama-Huntsville free throws, put the final score at 69-61.

Goode led the Tigers with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Eichelberger added 12 points, hitting three 3-pointers.

The Tigers close out the 2011-12 season at 19-11.