#5 Stillman defeats Claflin (93-69)
ATLANTA, GA- In the first game of the day Stillman College the #5 seed matched up against the #12 seed Claflin University, who defeated Lane College in the opening round yesterday.
It was Stillman College from the opening tap as Lee Riley fired in a three point shot to start the game. Claflin’s David Glover answered with a three pointer to tie the contest at 3-3. Another three point basket by Riley and the Stillman Tigers, and they never looked back, going on to a 53-24 halftime advantage. In the second half, it was just a matter of holding serve as Stillman cruised to the 93-69 victory. The loss eliminated Claflin from the tournament. Claflin ended their season with a record of 8-18.
The Panthers seemed to run into a buzz saw as Stillman made 15-40 three point shots. If that weren’t enough the Tigers shot 50% from the field 34-68, and 71 % from the free throw line 10-14. While Claflin shot just 25% from behind the arc, (6-24), 35% from the field (23-66), and only 63% from the free throw line (17-27).
Mounda Williams led Claflin’s Panthers with 16 points, David Glover tallied 12 points, and Edward Green added 11 points.
The Tigers were led in scoring by Jeffery Wherry with 21 points, with 7 three pointers, Torrean Walker and Damian Ford scored 15 points each, and Lee Riley with 12 points.
The win advances Stillman in the tournament playing the #4 seed Benedict College Tigers, tomorrow at 12 noon.
Game #2 – Kentucky State University vs. Albany State University (Men) (SIACM04)
#10 Albany State defeats #7 Kentucky State (63-60)
ATLANTA, GA- The 10th ranked Rams of Albany State University (ASU) upset the seventh ranked Thorobreds of Kentucky State University (KSU) 63-60 in the second round of the SIAC Basketball Tournament. After three critical Thorobred turnovers with approximately two minutes left in the game, the Rams took the lead and never relinquished it. For the game, the Rams forced 18 KSU turnovers.
Offensively, the Rams shot 41.7% from the floor (25 of 60). They were led in scoring by Rachard Lofton who finished with 16 points and four rebounds. Marcus Benitez also scored in double figures with 11 points for the game. Troy Adams led KSU with 17 points. William Marsh finished with 14 points and Rich Austin added another 11 for KSU.
While the loss eliminates the Thorobreds from the tournament, the Rams, now 13-14 overall, advance to quarterfinal play on Thursday, March 1st when they meet the number two seed LeMoyne-Owen College at 4 p.m. in the Forbes Arena.
Game #3 – Benedict College vs. Clark Atlanta University (Women) (SIACW05)
#4 Benedict defeats #5 Clark Atlanta (60-38)
ATLANTA, GA – The Benedict College Lady Tigers put on a defensive show, holding Clark Atlanta to just four second-half field goals and 22 percent shooting for the game to take a 65-39 quarterfinal victory in the 2012 SIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Morehouse College’s Forbes Arena.
Benedict improves to 19-8 overall, while Clark Atlanta wraps up its season at 14-13.
Santera Grooms scored 14 points and had nine rebounds for the Lady Tigers. Charvez Holmes, playing in her first game of the season for Benedict, provided a strong effort with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Monique Weathers added 10 points.
Conisha Hicks led Clark Atlanta with 14 points. La’Quisha Lewis had 10 rebounds for the Lady Panthers.
Benedict’s ball-hawking defense forced Clark Atlanta into 29 turnovers and recorded 22 steals. Alexus Jones had a team-high six steals.
Clark Atlanta hit 22.4 percent of its field goals for the game (13-of-58) and only 13 percent in the second half (4-of-31).
Benedict pulled away from a close first half with a 10-0 run to close out the first half to take a 32-22 lead into the locker room.
After Clark Atlanta’s Shantress Thrash opened the second half with a layup to cut the lead to eight points, the Lady Tigers scored the next seven points and never saw their lead drop below double digits the rest of the way.
After Clark’s Denise Law hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 51-38 with 4:40 to play, the Lady Tigers turned up the pressure and closed out the game with a 14-1 run to seal the victory.
With the win, Benedict advances to Friday’s semifinal match, where they will face the winner of #1 seed Fort Valley State and #8 seed LeMoyne-Owen.
Game #4 – Paine College vs. Morehouse College (Men) (SIACM05)
#6 Paine defeats #11 Morehouse (63-60)
ATLANTA – Paine College’s Tony Baker sank two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to help lift the sixth-seed Lions to a 63-60 victory over11th seed Morehouse College in a first-round game in the 2012 SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Morehouse College’s Forbes Arena.
Baker led the Lions with 12 points, while Mario Jordan and Geno Green each added 10 points. Paine, now 15-12 on the season, advances to face third-seed Clark Atlanta at 8 .m. on Thursday.
Cortez Nesbitt and Shawn Allen each had 18 points to lead the Morehouse Maroon Tigers.
Paine had a 59-51 lead after a driving layup by Kedric Taylor with 4:05 left in the game, but Morehouse cut the lead to 59-58, getting six points from Nelson, including a three-point play. Darius Smith cut through the defense for a layup to give the Lions a 61-58 lead with 1:05 left to play.
Nelson scored on a turn-around jumper in the paint to make it 61-60 with
44 seconds left.
Paine missed a shot, and Morehouse had the ball with a chance to pull ahead, but turned the ball back over to Paine with 4.6 seconds left on the clock. Baker raced down the court unguarded and caught a long pass and waited for the defense to foul him and then sealed the win at the line.
Game #5 – Fort Valley State University vs. LeMoyne-Owen College (Women) (SIACW06)
#1 Fort Valley State defeats #8 LeMoyne-Owen (99-64)
ATLANTA- #1 seed Fort Valley State used a stifling defensive performance to put away #8 seed LeMoyne-Owen, 99-64, in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 SIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Morehouse College’s Forbes Arena.
The Lady Wildcats forced 40 turnovers using a tough full court press for the entire game, nearly cracking the century mark on the Lady Magicians.
Jasmine Birdsong and Carmenonique Dawson led Fort Valley State with 14 points each. Tamara Andrews and Dominique Collier both contributed 10 points. Andrews also had a team-high seven rebounds.
LeMoyne-Owen guard Jasmine Massey led all scorers with 31 points, including going 9-of-15 from behind the arc. Sharita Jones and Blair Scott each contributed 10 points.
Fort Valley State, who held a 49-27 rebounding edge, advances to play Benedict College in the semi-final round on Friday at 6 p.m.
Game #6 – Tuskegee University vs. Fort Valley State (Men) (SIACM06)
#8 Fort Valley State defeats #1 Tuskegee (80-77)
ATLANTA- A three-pointer by Fort Valley State’s Kevin May at the buzzer knocked out the top-seeded Tigers of Tuskegee University in the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Forbes Arena on the campus of Morehouse College.
Despite going scoreless in first six minutes of the game, the eighth-seeded Wildcats took a 38-37 halftime lead over Tuskegee. Brandon Davey carried the Wildcats with 12 first half points.
Tuskegee’s Derrick White knotted the game at 49 with 15:25 remaining, but the Wildcats answered with their largest lead of the game at seven points. At the five minute mark, the Tigers reclaimed their first lead, 68-67, since early in the first half.
Both teams traded a pair of free throws down the stretch that kept the game even. But it was May’s buzzer beater three-pointer that sent the Wildcats into the semi-final game Friday, March 2, against the winner of the Benedict/Stillman game.
