Benedict Hosts Rival Claflin Tuesday Night
Orangeburg, S.C. (Claflin) —The Claflin University men’s basketball team will travel to Columbia, S.C. to face interstate rivals Benedict College in a pivotal Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game, Tuesday, Jan. 31 at the HRC Arena on the Benedict College campus.
Tip-off is immediately following the women’s game at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Live stats and live stream will be available at the following links:
Live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/benedict/mbball/
Live stream: https://boxcast.tv/view/benedict-mens-basketball-vs-claflin-611789
Claflin enters the game with a 12-5 overall record and 7-2 in the SIAC.
Benedict will bring an 11-8 overall record and 8-2 SIAC bill into the contest.
“For the student bodies, alumni, and fans of both institutions this is the game that is marked on the calendar,” said head coach Ricky Jackson. “I’m sure this game will be exciting for them and will be well worth the price of admission.”
The Panthers, who are winners of their last eight-of-nine contests, is ranked 10th in the Men’s Basketball Division II media poll sponsored by D2SIDA
Senior Ryan McNeill-Moses leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.6 and 5.5, respectively. During conference play his numbers increase to 14.3 and 6.1, respectively.
Red-shirt sophomore Austin Lawton is leading the Panthers in blocked shots and is second in both scoring and rebounding. Lawton, who is ranked 12th nationally in blocked shots, is averaging 2.56 blocks, 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing. During conference play he is averaging 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game.
Benedict has two players averaging in double-figures led by Quayshun Hawkins who is averaging 19.5 points per game. Brandon Morris is averaging 16.6 points per game and is leading the Tigers in rebounding at 6.6 boards per outing.
This will be the 19th meeting between the two teams since the 2007-08 season. Benedict owns a slight 10-8 overall advantage with Claflin winning the four-of-six meetings including a sweep of the Tigers in 2014-15. The teams split last season with each team winning on their own court.
As a team, the Panthers have a slight scoring advantage of 76.4 compared to 72.2 while Benedict own the slim rebounding advantage at 36.2 to 33.5
