Game #1 – Miles College vs. Paine College (Women) SIACW01
#6 Miles defeats #11 Paine (60-53)
ATLANTA, GA– In the first game of the 2012 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Basketball Tournament, the number six seed Lady Bears of Miles College (MC) defeated the 11th seed Lady Lions of Paine College (PC) 60-53 in the Frank Forbes Arena on the Morehouse College campus.
Courtney English led the Lady Bears in scoring with 17 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds. She also finished with three steals. Teammate Charlesia Norman added 16 points in the win. Ariel Brown led the Lady Lions with 17 points and Quandra Rodgers and Kiara Farley added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
With the win, the Lady Bears improve to 16-11 and advance to the second round of the tournament and will meet the #3 ranked Tigerettes of Tuskegee University at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 1st in the Forbes Arena. The Lady Lions finish the season with a 6-21 mark and are eliminated from tournament play.
Game #2- Clark Atlanta University vs. Lane College (Women) SIACW02
#5 Clark Atlanta defeats #12 Lane (62-47)
ATLANTA, GA- The fifth ranked Lady Panthers of Clark Atlanta University (CAU) defeated the 12th seed Lady Dragons of Lane College (LC) 62-47 in the first round of the SIAC Basketball Tournament. In a game that featured just two lead changes, CAU advanced to second round play after a double-double performance by center La’Quisha Lewis. She finished with a game-high 17 point and a game-high 18 rebounds. The junior also added four blocked shots, three steals, and one assist. Point guard Conisha Hicks finished with 15 points. Brittney Peters and Cellonda Crawford had eight points each for the Lady Dragons.
The Lady Panthers (14-12) will meet the Lady Tigers of Benedict College in the third round. Tip-off is scheduled for Wednesday, February 29th at 2 p.m. in the Forbes Arena at Morehouse College.
Game #3- Claflin University vs. Lane College (Men) SIACM01
#12 Claflin defeats #13 Lane (73-57)
ATLANTA, GA- In the third game of the day in the opening round of the 2012 SIAC Basketball Tournament the Panthers of Claflin University defeated the Lane College Dragons 73-57. With the loss Lane was eliminated from the tournament.
There was a total of 48 fouls whistled in the game. Lane shot just 31% for the game from the field (21-67), 25% (4-16) from beyond the arc, and just 39% from the free throw line, (11-28). While Claflin shot (22-49) 45% from the field, (8-18) 44% from behind the arc, and (21-26) 80% from the free throw line.
Anthony Collier led the Dragons in the scoring department with 18 points, while Ashton Patton added 10 points in a losing cause.
The Panthers were led by Edward Green with a game high 20 points, as Terrence Bowman tallied 18 points, with 12 points coming in the first half.
Claflin University advances to the quarter final round Tuesday morning at 10 am, against the Tigers of Stillman College.
Game #4- Lemoyne-Owen College vs. Kentucky State University (Women) SIACW03
#8 Lemoyne-Owen defeats #9 Kentucky State (76-53)
ATLANTA, GA – In the fourth game of the 2012 SIAC Basketball Tournament, the Kentucky State University Thorobrettes fell to the LeMoyne-Owen Lady Magicians, 76-53.
The first half started off with turnovers and steals from both teams. With 19:00 left in the first half, Tiffany Merritt evened the score (2-2) with a jumper. The Lady Magicians snuck four more points in before KSU’s Sharnita Lloyd sunk a deep three from behind the arc. These would be the only points for the Brettes for four minutes. A layup from Shayla Moore ended the Lady Magicians 10-0 run.
Kristi Malohi‘s jumper quickly followed Moore’s layup. Senior Raven Ward upped the score with four quick points. Both teams continued to get steals but were unable to get points off of turnovers. Points from Shonice Sprouse, Monique Reed and Cheneka Anderson gave the Lady Magician’s their final points for the half. With 27 seconds left in the half, KSU’s leading scorer Jasmine Davis sunk a three. KSU trailed the Lady Magicians 23-37 at halftime.
The second half began with a jumper from Ward. After a two free throws from Tiffany Merritt, the next five points from the Brettes came from Sharnita Lloyd. The Lady Magicians continued to score points in the paint. Davis’ and one play seemed to give the Brettes the comeback but they were unable to match up against the Lady Magicians. With 1:59 left in the game, Ashley Thompson-Baker hit good jumper, which were the last points from the Brettes for the game.
Raven Ward, Shayla Moore, and Jasmine Davis each scored 11 points for KSU. Sharnita Lloyd had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.
Lemoyne-Owen guard Shonice Sprouse led all scorers with 24 points while Blair Scott contributed 13 points.
Lemoyne-Owen advances to the quarterfinals to take one #1 seed Fort Valley State Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Game #5- Albany State University vs. Claflin University (Women) SIACW04
#7 Albany State defeats #10 Claflin (57-51)
ATLANTA, GA – Symone Wilkerson scored 23 points, including Albany State’s final five points, to lift the Lady Golden Rams to a 57-51 victory over the Claflin Lady Panthers in an opening round game of the 2012 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday in Forbes Arena on the campus of Morehouse College.
The Lady Rams, the seventh seed, advance to play No. 2 seed Stillman College on Thursday at 6 p.m. Albany State moves to 10-16 on the season. Claflin, the 10th seed, ends its season with a 6-17 record.
A free throw by Claflin’s Brittani Goodwin brought the Lady Panthers to within two at 52-50 with 1:42 left to play, but Wilkerson hit a free throw on the other end for a 53-50 lead. Goodwin hit one of two free throws with 1:12 remaining to make it 53-51, but Wilkerson sank two free throws for the Lady Rams to make it 55-51 with 39 seconds. Wilkerson then stole the ball and drove for a layup with 15 seconds left to seal the game for Albany State.
Goodwin scored 11 points to lead Claflin while Hickmon had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Both teams had shooting difficulties. Albany State shot 35.3 percent for the game (18-of-51), while Claflin shot 29.6 percent (16-of-54). Albany State made just three of 16 3-point attempts, while Claflin was 2-of-14 on 3-pointers. The two teams combined for 53 turnovers. Both teams shot 53 percent from the free-throw line.
Albany State led 29-20 at the half, but Claflin opened the second half with a 12-2 to take a 34-31 lead. Brittani Jones had a steal and a layup, while Alnessa Hickmon and Goodwin each scored off offensive rebounds in that spurt.
The game stayed tight the rest of the way, with Albany State using an 8-0 run to pull ahead to a 50-43 lead with 5:05 left to play. A 3-pointer by April Thomas with 5:05 left was Albany State’s final field goal until Wilkerson’s layup. Albany State hit five of 16 free-throws in the final four minutes, allowing Claflin to cut into the seven-point lead.
Albany State’s Precious Peak had a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points. Kourtney Alexander also chipped in nine points.
The Lady Rams advance to take on #2 Stillman in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
Game #6- Fort Valley State University vs. Miles (Men) SIACM02
#8 Fort Valley State defeats #9 Miles (86-80)
ATLANTA, GA- In the sixth and final game of the day in the opening round of the 2012 SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Wildcats of Fort Valley State University used a late 2nd half rally to come away with an 86-80 victory.
The closely contested first half saw four ties and three lead changes the last coming with 2:10 left in the first half, before Fort Valley went on a 5-3 run to close out the half for a 40-37 halftime advantage.
The second half was just as exciting as Miles finally tied the contest again at 53-53 with 10:12 left in the game. Both teams played on even terms until late in the game when Fort Valley opened up a seven point lead with an 11-4 run, with 3:44 left for a 64-57 score. But the Golden Bears could get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as Fort Valley advanced to the second round of the Tournament. With the loss Miles College ended their season with an 11-16 record.
Richard Harper led all scorers with a game high 27 points for the Golden Bears, Morris Perry added 11 points, while Eric Lipkin and Michael Cofield tallied 10 points each.
Cory Hunter led the Wildcats with 18 points, Kyle Cooper who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half. Cecil Bent tallied 13 points, Stanford Stephens was credited with 12 points, and Brandon Davey added 10 points.
Fort Valley (13-14) continues tournament play tomorrow at 8:00 pm against the #1 seed Tuskegee University.
Follow Aubrey Grier ( @AuthenticG ) for all of the latest happenings at the 2012 SIAC Basketball Tournament.
