SIAC Basketball Tournament Day 3 Recaps-TU advances in Double OT
In todays action both #2 seeds got upset. #2 seed Fort Valley State women’s team lost a tough game against Stillman and #2 LeMoyne-Owen for the men was upset by Tuskegee in double overtime. Fort Valley State Men defeated Paine in a nail biter 71-66 and Kentucky State destroyed LeMoyne-Owen on the women’s side.
#7 Stillman 63 #2 Fort Valley State 57 (W)
Bianca Burton’s 13 points and 22 rebounds helped Stillman overcome some early foul trouble to defeat Fort Valley State 63-57 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. The Lady Tigers will await the LeMoyne Owen/Kentucky State winner in Saturday’s semifinal at 1 p.m. Fort Valley’s (18-10) Takesha Riggs led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-23 shooting from the field. Tierra Washington was Fort Valley’s only other double-figure scorer in the game with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Stillman had three other players reach double-figures along with Burton in the game: Tiffany McGhee (17), Sylbrena Johnson (16) and Siera Dority (13). Stillman (12-18) out-rebounded Fort Valley 52-44. The Lady Tigers took a 25-23 lead into halftime after being down 16-3 midway through the first half.
#3 Fort Valley State 71 #6 Paine 66 (M)
Tony Omotayo scored 15 points and Romaine Henry came off the bench to add 12 more as the Fort Valley State University Wildcats defeated the Lions of Paine College 71-66 in the quarterfinals of the SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 15-13 overall while the Lions complete their season with a 14-15 record. Paine College had three players to score in double figures led by Joshua Adams’ 14 points. Jason Smalls pulled down a game high 11 rebounds for the Lions. The difference in the game was field goal shooting as the Wildcats connected on 48% (24-50) of their field goals while the Loins made 39% (23-59) of their attempts. Fort Valley State will play the winner of the LeMoyne-Owen/Tuskegee contest tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in Fair Park Arena.
#3 Kentucky State 75 #11 LeMoyne-Owen 62 (W)
Kentucky State raced out to a 17-point lead in the first half, then cruised to victory over LeMoyne-Owen 75-62 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women’s tournament at Fair Park Arena. Kiarra Morgan (20 points, 13 rebounds) and Mattie Jones (16 points, 14 rebounds) each had double-doubles for the third-seeded Thorobrettes (18-10), who will face Stillman in the semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m. LeMoyne-Owen, the No. 11 seed, finishes its season at 6-23. Kentucky State never trailed but was in a tight battle in the first half. A 10-0 run to close the opening period gave the Thorobrettes a 39-22 advantage at halftime. A basket by Jones less than three minutes into the second half gave KSU its biggest lead, 22 points, and the Lady Magicians did not get the deficit back under 10 points until the final minute. LeMoyne-Owen could not keep Kentucky State off the glass, getting outrebounded 49-37. KSU had an impressive 25 offensive rebounds that turned into 23 points, which matched the points off turnovers for the Thorobrettes. Four players scored in double figures for the Lady Magicians, led by Shadonna Tate’s 16 points. Priscilla Campbell (14), Karlneisha Brown (13), and Chanell Davis (11) also had strong efforts for LeMoyne-Owen.
#7 Tuskegee 114 #2 LeMoyne-Owen 107 (2-OT) (M)
Tuskegee’s men’s basketball team like to run on offense, pressure on defense and wear down opponents into submission. Normally that means playing with the lead. But in Friday’s Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinal against LeMoyne-Owen, the Golden Tigers had to come from way behind and needed extra time to accomplish the feat. The Golden Tigers erased a 20-point, first half deficit to needed two overtimes to upset No.-2 seed LeMoyne-Owen 114-107 at Fair Park Arena. Seventh-seeded Tuskegee (13-16) will face No. 3-seed Fort Valley State today at 3 p.m. Six Tuskegee players scored in double figures, led by Preston McCarter, who scored 23 points. Maurice Mickens scored a game-high 28 points for No. 2 LeMoyne-Owen, which finished the season 14-14. The Magicians led 35-15 with five minutes left in the first half and went into the locker room with a 44-30 advantage. Tuskegee would score 59 second half points and fended off two last-second shots from LeMoyne-Owen to force overtime tied at 89. The Golden Tigers were en route to a victory in the first overtime before Greg Hill (16 points) knocked down a 3-pointer with five seconds left to force the second overtime. They never trailed in the final period as the Magicians missed their final four shot attempts.