Charles Pour in 20 Points as Claflin Defeats Paine

Orangeburg, S.C. — Jaleel Charles scored a game-high 20 points, 14 in the first half, as the Claflin University Panthers rolled past Paine College, 86-53, in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) East Division game at the Tullis Arena.

The win kept Claflin perfect in the SIAC at 10-0 and extended the Panthers consecutive win streak to 16, the longest this season among SIAC teams. Morehouse College is second in the league at 14.

Claflin, along with Morehouse and Clark Atlanta University, both 9-0 in SIAC, are the only unbeaten teams in league play. The Panthers will face both teams in back-to-back road games, starting with Morehouse on Saturday (Jan. 20) and finishing against Clark Atlanta (Jan. 22).

Charles, who scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this season, finished the game 8-of-10 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Charles and Triston Thompson dished out four assists apiece.

Benjamin “Tre” Williams also finished the game in double-figures for the Panthers with 14 points, followed by Jordan Jones off the bench with 10.

Austin Lawton and Albert “Trey” Miller chipped in eight points each for Claflin. Lawton also shared game-high honors in rebounds with Paine Sam Bide with eight boards.

The Panthers ended the game with nine three-point baskets, five short of the season-high of 14 they recorded against Miles College (Jan. 4). Over the last three games, the Panthers sharp shooters have connected on 26 three-pointers with “Tre” Williams leading the way at 11.

Claflin shot 50% from the field in both periods and finished the game at 31-of-61 (50.8%).

Paine, now 4-12 and 3-6, was led in scoring by Babe Murphy with 17 points.

After building a 42-22 advantage at the half, the Panthers maintained the 20-point cushion over the first 7-plus minutes at 57-37.

The lead wash pushed to 25 points at 63-38 for Claflin off a three-point basket by “Trey” Miller with 10:57 left.

Claflin ended the game, outscoring Paine 23-15.

In the first half, the Panthers raced out to a 19-9 lead in the first nine minutes and never looked back.

The margin was increased to 33-16 over a six-minute period as the result of 14-7 run by Claflin.

The Panthers ended the half with a 42-22 lead by scoring nine of the last 15 points of the period.

Claflin Athletics contributed to this article.