Benedict Battles By Claflin 70-58
COLUMBIA, S.C. (BC SID) — The Benedict College Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak with a strong all-around effort to beat rival Claflin University 70-58 in front of a packed crowd in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena on Monday night. Deonte Johnson led the way by matching his season-high of 19 points, and grabbing a season-high 15 rebounds. Brennan Reynard scored a season-high 16 points while Kareem Ransom added 11 points. Benedict improves to 13-7 overall and 8-4 in the SIAC. Claflin drops to 9-13 overall and 6-6 in the SIAC. The Tigers had a 32-29 lead at the end of a close first half. In the second half, the Tigers came out of the locker room aggressive, and quickly pushed the lead to 51-37 after a 3-pointer by Ransom, and field goals by Andrew Crawford, Lamar Adkins, Johnson and Reynard. Claflin cut the lead to 56-49 on a layup by Marcellus Dunn with 8:39 left to play, but Justin Peeples answered with a 3-pointer and the Tigers maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Another 3-pointer by Peeples gave Benedict its largest lead, 68-51, with 4:54 left to play. Kendall Jackson led Claflin with 17 points, while Dunn and Jarrod Denard each had 15. Benedict will continue its six-game home stand against Albany State on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
