Benedict’s comeback falls short to CAU
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Benedict College saw its eight-game home winning streak snapped as Clark Atlanta University remained unbeaten in conference play with a narrow 71-69 victory over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
Clark Atlanta, ranked 21st nationally in both the NABC coaches poll and the D2SIDA media poll, improves to 20-1 overall and 14-0 in the SIAC. Benedict falls to 17-6 overall and 10-5 in the SIAC with their first home loss of the season.
Cairo Brown led the Tigers with 18 points, including a driving layup with 30 seconds left that made the score 70-69. The Panthers made one of two free throws with nine seconds left for the final margin. Benedict had a shot to tie the game or take the lead with a 3-pointer, but turned the ball over with three seconds left.
Brandon Morris added 14 points, while Jelani Watson-Gayle and Mike Udume chipped in 11 points each. Damien Davis led the Panthers with 17 points.
Clark Atlanta jumped out early, taking a 20-5 lead in the first seven and a half minutes. Benedict closed out the first half with a 15-3 run to cut the lead to 35-34 at the half. A pair of free throws by Dimitri Cook to open the second half gave Benedict its first lead of the contest, and a layup by Brown gave the Tigers their largest lead, 38-35, with 18:41 on the clock.
The Panthers pulled back ahead and led 56-46 with 12:44 to play, but Benedict got back-to-back 3-pointers by Udume and Rodney Prichard to cut the lead to four points, 56-52, with 11:36 to play. A 3-pointer by Watson-Gayle tied the game at 59-59 with 8:35 left to play.
Benedict continues its stretch of tough games, hosting Morehouse College on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. Morehouse was ranked seventh in the nation by the NABC and 8th by D2SIDA in last week’s poll, but lost their first game of the season to Claflin on Wednesday night. After Morehouse on Monday, Benedict has rival Claflin at home next Saturday. That game will be Reunion Weekend and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Benedict Athletics contributed to this article.
