Game #1- Benedict College vs. Stillman College (Men) (SIACM07)
#4 Benedict defeats #5 Stillman (86-85)
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TLANTA–Day three of the 2012 SIAC Tournament began with a shootout between Stillman College and Benedict College in the battle of the Tigers. Stillman’s Damian Ford missed the backend of a double bonus, allowing Benedict to escape with an 86-85 win in double overtime.
Benedict posted the first points of the game on a long-range jumper by senior, Marcus Goode. Over the next six minutes, the battle heated up, as SC came within two points (12-10, BC). Benedict pulled away, going on a 6-0 run in 50 seconds to take an 18-12 lead with 13:20 to play in the first half.
With 5:55 to play in the Ford converted an and-one play, tying the game at 31. On the next possession for BC, Jonathan Flint blocked Goode’s shot, exciting the crowd and his team. Ford responded by draining a three-pointer, giving SC a 34-31 lead with 5:30 to play in the half. After a BC missed shot, Stillman hit another jumper, giving the Tigers their biggest lead of the half at 36-31. Stillman maintained their lead through the end of the period and went into the locker room with a 42-37 lead.
Stillman entered the final minute of the game with a 68-66 lead. Wherry’s missed three-pointer allowed Benedict to grab the defensive rebound and with 41.3 BC called a timeout. Bell tied the game at 68, knocking down a short floater in the paint. With the shot clock off, Stillman missed the shot and Benedict snatched the rebound. After forty minutes of play, this group of Tigers headed into overtime deadlocked at 68.
With just 19 seconds to play in the first overtime, Trevor Eichelberger tied the game at 76 for BC. Stillman took possession with just three seconds remaining and attempted to end the game but was unable to get a shot off.
With Stillman up 84-80 with under a minute to play in the second overtime, Benedict responded by hitting back-to-back shots, including converting an and-one play with five seconds to play to go up one. On Stillman’s next possession, Ford was fouled and went to the free-throw line for two shots, missing one to end the game.
Young and Goode led Benedict’s overtime comeback, as Young scored six points and Goode grabbed six rebounds in overtime alone. Ford led Stillman with nine points, including 4-5 from the charity stripe and 2-2 from the field.
Ford scored a game-high 22 points, adding nine rebounds and four assists. Ladarius Rhone followed with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, while their teammate Lee Riley chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
For Benedict, Goode had a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks. Bell followed with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Young added 15 points and five assists.
While Stillman is eliminated from tournament play, Benedict moves on to play #8 Fort Valley State on Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m.
Game #2 – Tuskegee University vs. Miles College (Women) (SIACW07)
#3 Tuskegee defeats #6 Miles (59-58)
ATLANTA-– In women’s quarter final action, the Tigerettes of Tuskegee University (TU) continued their quest for the 2012 SIAC crown by defeating the Lady Bears of Miles College (MC). After claiming a 31-27 halftime lead, TU had to fend off a second half surge by MC which included two lead changes. In fact, the Tigerettes trailed 57-58 with fifteen seconds remaining and won the game on a jump shot by Nnenna Eze with just four seconds left on the clock.
Three Tigerettes scored in double figures in the win. Alondra Rivers finished with 13 points; Amelia Dorton had 12 and Eze tallied 11 points. Sammeika Thomas was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points for the Lady Bears.
The Tigerettes advance to semi-final round and will play on Friday, March 2nd at 2 p.m. against the winner of the quarterfinal match-up between Stillman College and Albany State University. The loss eliminates the Lady Bears from tournament play.
Game #3 – LeMoyne-Owen College vs. Albany State University (Men) (SIACM08)
#2 LeMoyne-Owen defeats #10 Albany State (55-51)
ATLANTA–The Magicians of LeMoyne-Owen College (17-10) defeated the Golden Rams of Albany State University, 55-51, to advance to the semi-finals of the 2012 SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. LOC will play the winner of Clark Atlanta University/Paine College.
The Magicians took control of the contest in the first half, holding the Rams to just 15 first half points. With defensive pressure that produced 9 first half turnovers, that resulted into easy points, for a 28-15 LeMoyne-Owen, halftime lead.
In the second half the Golden Rams made things interesting, cutting the Magicians’ lead to 4 points 39-35 by the time the clock read 7:15 left to play. LeMoyne-Owen regained the momentum and pushed their lead back over double-digits, 11 points (48-37) with a 9-2 run with 3:10 left. The Rams climbed back to within 2 points, (53-51) a 14-5 run at the 24 second mark. LeMoyne-Owen made 2-2 free throws the rest of the way to advance to the semi-final game, with a 55-51 victory.
The Golden Rams were led by Marcus Benitez with 12 points, while Demarcus Blunt and Demetrius Jones added 9 points each.
Brandon Hopson led the Magicians with a game high 13 points, as Deyquan Nesbit tallied 10 points.
Game #4 – Stillman College vs. Albany State University (Women) (SIACM08)
#2 Stillman defeats #7 Albany State (91-73)
ATLANTA– #2 Stillman Lady Tigers defeated #7 Albany State Lady Rams 91-73 in quarterfinal action Thursday night at Forbes Arena.
In the game, Stillman shot 47 percent (31-66) from the field including 5-of-13 (38.5%) from beyond the arc. The Lady Rams picked up their offensive output in the second half, finishing with a shooting mark of 30 percent from the floor and nearly 80 percent (19-24) from the free throw line.
For Albany State (11-17), Symone Wilkerson had 21 points and six rebounds while April Thomas finished with 20 points. Precious Peak had five points and nine rebounds while Mecca Frost had eight points off the bench.
For Stillman (20-7), Phyllice Eubanks led four Lady Tigers in double figure scoring – three of whom had double-double performances. The Tuscaloosa native tallied 25 points (11-11 FTs) along with 13 rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. Senior forward Jamila McKinnis added 17 points, ten rebounds and five blocks while Ashley Kidd garnered 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Senior Brittney Jenkins added 12 points, five assists and three rebounds.
The Lady Tigers advance to the semifinals of the 2012 SIAC Tournament to face #3 Tuskegee on Friday, March 2 at 2 p.m. at Forbes Arena.
Game #5 – Clark Atlanta University vs. Paine College (Women) (SIACM09)
#6 Paine defeats #5 Clark Atlanta (76-74)
The sixth-seeded Lions of Paine College Stun No. 5 Clark Atlanta with a 76-74 victory over the Panthers in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Thursday at Forbes Arena on the campus of Morehouse College.
After a quick tempo in the first ten minutes of play, the Lions went on a 12 to 6 run and opened their largest lead of the game at 10 points with 2:30 remaining. This momentum carried them down the stretch as they took at 42-30 lead into halftime.
To open the second half, the Panthers closed the gap and knotted the game at 55 on a basket by Royce Hamilton at the 10:00 mark. Both teams traded scores for the next two minutes until Paine went on a 7-0 run and captured a 70-63 lead with five minutes remaining. The game was close down stretch and despite a valiant comeback effort by CAU, the Lions proved to be too strong as they held on for the victory.
Kedric Taylor led a trio of Lions in double-digits with 21 points followed by Geno Green with 20 and Allen Young who chipped in 15.
For the Panthers, Logan Shoffner finished with a game-high 22 points while Hamilton added 20 points and eight rebounds along with Antonio Burch’s 12 points.
With the win, the Lions advanced to the semi-final round, Friday, March 2, against No. 2 LeMoyne-Owen at 4 p.m.
