WATCH: Claflin beats rival Benedict, 73-64 Thursday night in Columbia

Columbia, S.C. – The Claflin University men’s basketball team defeated Benedict College, 73-64, in a non-conference road contest at the HRC Arena on the Benedict College campus.

With the win, Claflin improves to 8-12 overall while the Tigers fall to 3-18 with the loss.

Austin Lawton led all scorers with 19 points.  Lawton pulled in seven rebounds with one assist and one block shot in the win.

The Panthers finished the game with three players in double-figures as Triston Thompson and Danny Brown finished the game with 15 points apiece.

Mykal Johnson came off the bench to contribute six points with five rebounds a steal and an assist.

Jasiah Perry led Benedict with 12 points.  Romello Jones pulled in seven rebounds and Jalen Stegall dropped in eight points for the Tigers in the loss.

In the second half, Claflin pushed its three-point half-time lead to eight points, 44-36, scoring the first nine-of-13 points, and forcing Benedict to its first timeout of the half with 16:45 showing on the clock.

The Tigers regrouped out of the timeout, going basket-for-basket with the Panthers over with the next five-plus minutes to keep the lead within five, 52-47, at the under 12 minute media (11:34).

Benedict scored the first two baskets out of the timeout to close the gap to one, 51-50, but a three-point play by Lawton pushed the lead back to four, 55-51, with 7:36 remaining in the contest.

The Panthers controlled the tempo the rest of the way obtaining their biggest lead, 12 points, at the 3:31 mark (65-53), before going on to take the nine point win, 73-64.

The scoring was stagnant over the first 10 minutes of play, with the teams combining for just 22 points, 12 for Claflin-10 for Benedict.

Benedict scored the next four-of-six points for the second tie of the game (14-14) with 8:30 remaining in the half.

Lawton converted a traditional three-point play a minute later to give the Panthers the two point advantage, (16-14).  Brown hit a three-pointer in the next minute to give Claflin a five-point lead, 19-14, but a three-point play followed by a layup by MacDonald tied the game at 19-all.

Haneef Britt hit 1-of-2 free-throws to put Claflin back ahead.  The Panthers held the lead for the remainder of the half taking a three-point lead into intermission (35-32).

Claflin will host Fayetteville State, Monday, Feb. 4.  Tip-off is at approximately 7:30 p.m. and will follow the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award presentation.

It will also be First Responders Night in Tullis Arena.  Members of the police and fire departments as well as EMS, nurses and doctors in uniform or with a valid ID, will be receive a general admission doubleheader ticket for $5.  Regular general admission is $8.