GARLAND, Texas - The No. 6 seed Alabama A&M University opened the men's portion of the 2013 Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament with a 59-51 win over No. 7 Grambling State on Wednesday inside the Curtis Culwell Center.

Brandon Ellis, Demarquelle Tabb, and Green Hill helped AAMU (11-19) move on to the semifinal round to meet No. 1 seeded Southern University on Friday.

Ellis scored 19 pOints hitting 7-of-13. Tabb posted a double-double with 15 points and and a game high 15 rebounds. Hill added 11 points and six assists.

The Bulldogs shot 40 percent and claimed the edge in rebounds, 41-36.

SWAC Freshman of the Year, Terry Rose, led all scorers and GSU (0-28) with 22 points connecting 7-of-19 from the field.

GSU hit 41 percent in the first half but before shooting 24 percent in the second and 32 percent for the game.

With a 47-45 lead and 5:00 minutes left to play, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 19-4.

The win is head coach Willie Hayes first in the post season and Alabama A&M's first tournament win since the 2005-2006 season when they won it all.