Western Kentucky Universitys Chris Marcus (left) and teammate Filip Videnov battle USAs Virgil Stanescu for a rebound Tuesday in the Toppers 64-54 title win in Mobile, Ala. Photo by Joe Imel

For more photos from the Sun Belt Conference, go here

MOBILE, Ala. For the second straight night, Western Kentucky University was driven to the brink of elimination in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Once again, the Hilltoppers kept their composure and were able to pull out a hard-fought win Tuesday. The 64-54 victory over South Alabama gave Western its first conference championship in six years. The Hilltoppers also nabbed the leagues automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win for the first time since 1995.The Jaguars eliminated Western last season in the quarterfinals before losing by one point to Louisiana-Lafayette in the final. This was a major challenge to come in here and win against such a seasoned team, Western coach Dennis Felton said. Im sure they had to believe this was their year with as close as they got last year and to have it on their home court. I cant really find the words to express how courageous I feel our players are. Western had a 10-point lead with 12:21 left in the game, but USA began steadily chipping away. A 12-4 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by guard Emmett Thomas at the 4:41 mark gave the Jaguars their first lead since early in the first half. I didnt think for a moment that those 10-point leads would hold up, Felton said. I knew they were really, really (going to) make us earn it, and they did. South Alabamas lead was short-lived, however. Derek Robinson, who went 1-of-7 from the field, connected on a 3-pointer of his own to wrestle the lead back for the Hilltoppers. I hadnt hit a shot all tournament, but my team doesnt need me to score, Robinson said. Im just going to take my shot when its open and tonight, I was confident when I knocked down a big shot for us. Senior Nashon McPherson stole the ball from Demetrice Williams and Tremain Rowles knocked down a 10-footer with 2:31 left. Tournament MVP Chris Marcus blocked USA center Virgil Stanescu on the other end and got the rebound, but the Hilltoppers were unable to convert as Rowles was called for traveling. South Alabama guard Ericson Beck then saw his 3-point try rattle out of the basket and Marcus hauled down the rebound. The Hilltoppers nearly turned the ball over again, but Rowles saved a turnover and fouled Marcus under the basket. Marcus was fouled by Ravonte Dantzler while going up for a dunk and extended the lead to six points after hitting both free throws. Thomas missed a trey and when Marcus collected the rebound and hit another pair of foul shots, it was obvious which team would claim the SBC Tournament championship trophy. When Chris got that rebound on the other end and knocked down those two free throws, I knew wed won it then, said Western point guard Raynardo Curry, who scored a career-high 11 points. Even though Western lost its second-half lead, the players didnt panic, thanks in large part to Felton. Weve got a poised coach over there and he was telling us, Just dont worry about it. Do what you do best and good things will happen. Good things did happen for us, McPherson said. I really cant describe (the emotion). We just worked so hard all season and had confidence in ourselves. We always knew that with the way we play defense and rebound and get after people, good things would happen to us. South Alabama coach Bob Weltlich said his players tried to create too much individually late in the game, rather than allow the game to come to them. We just made a couple of what I thought were really bad decisions, he said. What we had done well to get back to that point kind of deteriorated. Marcus once again led Western with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Stanescu scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.