Robert Champion scored 19 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, and Holy Cross defeated Southern, 59-55, in a play-in game on Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio, for its first N.C.A.A. tournament victory since 1953.
Champion, a junior guard, also hit two key free throws with 14 seconds left to put the game out of reach. He connected on as many 3-pointers as the entire Southern team, which was 3 for 20 from beyond the arc in a sluggish, mistake-filled game.
Holy Cross (15-19) was an unlikely team to reach the N.C.A.A. tournament, earning its automatic bid by winning four games on the road in the Patriot League tournament.