COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers didn’t score for the final three and a half minutes of the game and the Claflin Panthers rallied to take a 56-51 victory over Benedict on Tuesday night in front of a packed crowd in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
A free throw by Brandon Morris with 3:41 remaining gave Benedict a 51-49 lead over the Panthers. Claflin closed out the game with the final seven points to take the victory.
The win gives Claflin the lead in the SIAC East Division, improving to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in the SIAC. Benedict falls into second place in the division at 11-9 overall and 8-3 in the SIAC.
Brandon Morris led Benedict with 25 points and 11 rebounds. No other Benedict player reached double figures, as the Tigers shot 36 percent from the floor for the game, including 30 percent in the second half.
Ryan McNeil-Moses led Claflin with 13 points, while Triston Thompson added 10 points. Claflin shot 33.3 percent for the game, and just 28 percent in the first half. But the bigger Panthers outrebounded the Tigers 47-33, including 20 offensive rebounds.
Benedict led by as much as 10 points, 24-14, in the first half on a dunk by Morris. A 3-pointer by Justice Morgan gave the Tigers a 30-22 lead at the halftime break.
The second half saw four lead changes and a tight game between the two rivals. Claflin opened the second half by outscoring Benedict 15-3 for a 37-33 lead with 13:51 on the clock. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way.
Benedict is back in action on Thursday, traveling to Atlanta to take on Morehouse College at 7 p.m.
