Benedict surges past LeMoyne-Owen in SIAC Basketball Tournament

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Benedict College Tigers outscored LeMoyne-Owen 24-12 over the final six minutes to pull away from the Magicians and take a 90-76 victory on Wednesday in the SIAC Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Cricket.

Benedict, the third seed from the SIAC East, advances to Friday’s quarter-final match-up against Tuskegee, the second seed from the SIAC West, at 5 p.m.

The Tigers led the entire game, although the Magicians were able to trim the lead to one point, 61-60, with 8:16 left in the game. A jumper by the Magicians made it 66-64 with six minutes left when the Tigers scored the next six points.

LeMoyne-Owen trimmed the lead to 74-68 with 3:35 remaining, but Malachi McCoy followed with a 3-pointer, Brandon Beidleman had a three-point play and Calvin McCutcheon scored a fast-break layup for an 82-68 lead with 1:51 left to play.

The Magicians cut the lead to 84-76 with 32 seconds left, but the Tigers closed out the game with six points in the final 30 seconds.

The Tigers, now 22-6 overall, got a season-high 22 points from Beidleman. McCutcheon came off the bench to score 18 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. McCoy scored 13 points, and Asanti Price chipped in 11 points.

LeMoyne-Owen ends its season at 9-20. Christian Wells led the Magicians with 25 points.