SIAC Basketball Tournament Day 2 Recaps
The second day of the SIAC Tournament Action was filled with drama, controversy, upsets and a double overtime victory. Clark Atlanta leads the storm as both their Men & Women’s team advance to the Semi-Finals. #1 seed Benedict College for the Men advance in a double overtime victory over Albany State, #1 seed Tuskegee for the women advance easily over Paine. Both Miles Men and women lost in dramatic upset fashion.
#5 Clark Atlanta 88, #4 Albany State 80 (W)-
The first women’s game of the day saw Clark Atlanta University’s Lady Panthers jump out to double-digit lead and hold off a late Albany State Lady Rams surge to get the win. Clark Atlanta (18-10) was led by Danielle Walker who scored 23 points while Shantrell Moss added 17 more to aid CAU’s effort. Karla Westmore also made her presence felt for the Lady Panthers by notching up a double-double (12 points, 15 rebounds).
Albany State (16-12) had three players to score in double figures led by La’Toya Coard’s game high 27 points. Albany State had trouble scoring in the first half (24.2%), but rebounded somewhat in the second period and managed to cut the lead down to four points before Clark Atlanta finished strong to get the win.
#1 Tuskegee University 76, #8 Paine College 54 (W) -
The number one ranked Tigerettes of Tuskegee University continued their advance toward the SIAC women’s basketball title with a quarterfinal shellacking of the 8th seeded Lady Lions of Paine College. After the initial tip-off, there was little doubt about the outcome. After an early 4-4 tie, the Tigerettes embarked upon a 15-point unanswered run on their way to a 45-23 halftime lead.
After the intermission, the Lady Lions tried to regain their composure. Their 10 of 32 shooting performance and 10 of 17 in free throw shooting netted the Lady Lions 31 points in the second half. However, they were unable to close the gap on the Tigerettes who matched Paine’s second half output with an 11 of 35 shooting effort and 8 of 10 from the free throw line. Tuskegee was led in scoring by the SIAC’s Most Valuable Player Crystal Benton who finished with a game high 26 points. She also had seven rebounds. Rishaundra Gartrell finished with a double-double for Tuskegee with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Aisha Johnson also contributed 10 points in the win. The Lady Lions of Paine College were led in scoring by Savoyia Barrett and Chantal Murray who finished with 18 and 15 points respectively.
#1 Benedict College 73, #9 Albany State University 69 (M) (Double Overtime) –
Talk about surviving a scare! The number one ranked Tigers of Benedict College can breathe a sigh of relief after being taken to the brink of defeat by the 9th ranked Golden Rams of Albany State University. In fact, it took the conference leader two overtime periods to overcome the feisty play of Albany State. The Tigers avoided an early tournament departure by outscoring the Rams in the overtime periods 17-13 on their way to a 73-69 win. Four Tigers finished the game with double figure scoring. Michael Holmes had 16 points along with 12 rebounds in the Benedict win. Darius Lane finished with 15 points while Charles Gibbs and Bennie Lewis contributed 13 and 12 points respectively. Albany State’s Tyrone Evans was the game’s leading scorer finishing with 21 points. He also had 10 rebounds. Jamell Emory and James Clark each scored 14 points while Issac Wooden added 11 for the Golden Rams.
#11 LeMoyne-Owen College 60, #6 Miles College 58 (W)-
In a mild upset, the LeMoyne-Owen Lady Magicians edged the Lady Bears of Miles College to round out the quarterfinal round bracket. Karlniesha Brown led a quartet of players who scored in double figures with 17 points. Chanell Davis (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Priscilla Campbell (12 points and 10 rebounds) each notched up a double-double. With the victory, the Lady Magicians improved to 6-22.
LeMoyne-Owen trailed at the half (24-22), but outscored Miles 38-34 in the second period to get the victory. Sisters Cyntonia and Cyntauria Jones, the only two players on Miles’ roster to score in double figures, combined for 24 points to lead the Lady Bears (17-11). Cyntonia Jones also pulled down 11 rebounds. LeMoyne-Owen moves on to the next round where they will face #3 seed Kentucky State on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
#5 Clark Atlanta University 77, #4 Miles College 76 (M)-
If the women of Miles was a mild upset, the men of Miles had a big upset as they lost in the final seconds 77-76 to CAU to round out the days action packed day with a bang. Miles jumped out to a big lead in the first half leading as much as 14 points at one point but Clark Atlanta went on a shooting streak. They hit 50% of their 3 point shots in the first half to go into the half down just 1 point 36-35, after a huge rally sparked by Najee Lane a true freshman. In the second half the score would stay pretty close with Miles holding a lead up until the last minute. In the last minute Miles tried to hold strong and hit precious free throws in hopes of getting the victory going up as much as four points with just 35.9 seconds left in regulation. Clark Atlanta would score on free throws and tied the score with just 13.9 seconds remaining. Miles throw a long outlet and scored quickly on a layup to take the lead 76-75 and 6.2 seconds on the clock. With the clock running down Coshune Bingham was sent to the free throw line on a controversial foul with just 0.5 seconds remaining. He would hit two both free throws and Miles’s hail marry attempt fell short as an airball rebound in front of a shocked crowd. Freshman Najee Lane of Clark Atlanta scored 24 points and had 7 rebounds. Flawaan Flaggs led the charge for Miles scoring a game high 31. Clark Atlanta advances to play #1 seed Benedict College on Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 pm.
2008-mens-basketball-tournament-bracket-day2.pdf
2008-womens-basketball-tournament-bracket-day-2.pdf
Photograph courtesy of AUC Sports