Benedict beats Kentucky State 101-71 in season opener

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers opened the 2020-21 season in a big way, taking a 101-71 victory over Kentucky State on Saturday afternoon in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

The Tigers surpassed the century mark for the first time under head coach Artis Maddox, and marked the largest margin of victory in his three seasons as coach of the Tigers.

Senior forward Tajh Green led the Tigers with 20 points and 11 rebounds, doing most of the damage in the first half as Benedict raced out to a 50-32 lead at halftime.

Benedict had five players reach double figures, with newcomer Jayden Lockett scoring 15 points. Brandon Beidleman drilled three long 3-pointers and scored all of his 11 points in the second half. Tyrese Mapp and Timothy Bing added 10 points each.

Kentucky State, now 0-3 on the season, was led by Montrell Jacobs with 14 points.

Benedict had a 24-22 lead with 7:59 left in the first half before outscoring the Thorobreds 21-5 over the next six minutes, highlighted by a pair of fast-break dunks by Green.

Benedict shot 53.3 percent (40-of-75) for the game, while holding Kentucky State to 36.7 percent (22-of-60). The Tigers also dominated inside, outscoring the Thorobreds 56-20 in the paint.

The Tigers return to action on Monday, hosting Bluefield State at 7 p.m. Per SIAC guidelines, no fans will be admitted to the game. A live video stream and live stats will be available.