Claflin beats Benedict in rivalry game, 89-79

Orangeburg, S.C. (Claflin SID) – Austin Lawton scored a game-high 26 points with 13 rebounds in his last home appearance at the Tullis Arena as the Claflin University Panthers defeated intrastate rival Benedict College 89-79 on Thursday (Feb. 21).

With its eighth win over Benedict in the last 10 outings, Claflin wrapped up the regular season at 13-13.

Lawton finished the game, shooting 7-of-8 from the floor and near-perfect at the charity stripe, going 12-for-14. Over the last seven games, Lawton is 50-for-56 at the charity stripe.

Joining Lawton in double-figures for the Panthers were Danny Brown and Triston Thompson with 14 points each. Brown had three of Claflin’s seven three-pointers, while Thompson also dished out seven assists.

Brandon Davis added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Panthers.

Benedict, now 4-23, was led by Romello Jones and Jalen Stegall with 16 points apiece.

After leading 42-35 at the half, the Panthers built a double-digit lead, 49-39, on a basket from Brown with 17:25 left. The lead was stretched to 16 points, 62-46, on a pair of free throws from Davis, capping off a 13-7 run by the Panthers with 13:19 showing on the clock.

The next five minutes would be a different story as the Tigers pulled within five, 74-69, with 7:42 left on back-to-back layups from Davante Wiltshire.

Things got even closer following a Tiger steal that resulted in an easy basket, cutting the Panthers lead to just two, 76-74, with 5:20 left. That would be the closes for Benedict as Claflin outscored the Tigers 13-5 in the final five minutes.

In the first half, the contest was tied twice before Claflin went ahead for good. The Panthers led by as many as 10 points in the half before taking a 42-38 lead at the halftime.

Benedict shot alittle better from the field then Claflin in the first-half at 55 percent (11-of-20) compared to 39.4 percent (13-of-33) for the Panthers. Claflin made up the different from the free throw line, going 11-for-14 for 78.6 percent compared to 9-for-14 (64.3%) for the Tigers.

Lawton and Brown tallied 11 points  each for Claflin in the first period.

The Panthers will travel to Charlotte, N.C. next week for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Tournament. Early round action will take place at the Bojanles’ Coliseum followed by the semi-finals and finals at the Spectrum Center.