SAVANNAH, GA — The third round of the 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket saw
Clark Atlanta,
Benedict,
Miles, and
Morehouse advancing to semifinal play after two days of intense matchups.
Clark Atlanta (23-5, 16-5 SIAC), the No. 1 seed in the east division, turned the tide in an afternoon contest Thursday as they rivaled Savannah State University. The Panthers would test the Tigers all night, leading to the 54-53 upset at Savannah State’s own Tiger Arena. The Panthers’ leading scorer and 2024 SIAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year,
Chris Martin, scored early with a basket in the paint, but the Tigers’
Austin Lewis would respond with a 3-pointer only 23 seconds later. The Panthers’
Andrew Stewart would join in, sinking a 3-point jumper at 18:01.
A determined Lewis brought the teams to a tie, but Savannah State’s
Ayjay Plain would score on a fastbreak to take the lead. Key plays from Plain,
Landy and
King gave Savannah State a 13-point lead going into halftime (34-21).
To begin the second half, Clark Atlanta found its rhythm with two big three-pointers from Andrew Stewart and Chris Martin. The 2024 SIAC Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year,
Kharye Cayne, was front and center in the contest as well, blocking Javonte Landy in the paint and protecting his recently awarded title..
Martin continued to dominate on the court with back-to-back buckets, but a Khyare Cayne technical foul put the game back in the hands of Savannah State, allowing Qua King to produce at the charity stripe.
Lewis would tie the game at 40, but he’d then foul, placing Martin at the free throw line, posing a threat to the Tigers.
With 04:36 remaining in the ballgame, Clark Atlanta would lose Martin, their leading scorer, due to his fifth personal foul, and with six seconds remaining, Andrew Stewart would give the Panthers a one-point lead, securing the win for Clark Atlanta.
Clark Atlanta will advance to semifinal play, where they’ll face Benedict College (23-6, 15-6 SIAC), the No. 3 seed in the east division.
Miles (23-5, 16-4 SIAC), the No. 1 seed in the west division, secured a 66-51 victory over east No. 4 seed
Allen (10-11, 15-15 SIAC) in their tournament debut Thursday.
The Golden Bears shooting prowess was in full effect as
Truitt Spencer,
Rylen Walker,
Chase Ballard and
Elijah Horton went on a run, shooting five consecutive 3-pointers, giving the Golden Bears a 22-14 advantage with 6:40 remaining in the first half.
Mykayle Carter closed out the half with a bucket from beyond the arc and Allen trailing 28-18.
The Golden Bears would go on an 8-0 run to begin the second half, thanks to two big threes from Carter and
Alvin Miles. Carter's third 3-pointer of the night was followed by two free throws by Miles after a technical foul on Allen's
G'Shan Aldridge, for Miles’ biggest lead in the ballgame (51-32).
The determined Yellow Jackets applied full-court pressure and a three-point play by
Tavis Bridges sliced the deficit to eight points with 4:44 remaining.
A timeout by Miles’ head coach,
Fred Watson, gave the Golden Bears the momentum to knock down a mid-range jumper, pushing the lead back into double digits. Allen answered with two free throws, but in the next possession Carter scored a three, bringing the lead back to eleven points. The Golden Bears would then score eight consecutive points to take a 64-47 lead with 1:34 left in the game.
With no answer from the Yellow Jackets, Miles secured the victory, advancing to semifinal play, where the team will face the No. 2 seed in the east division,
Morehouse College (20-9, 16-5 SIAC) Saturday.
Day two of the second quarterfinal round saw Benedict College (21-6, 15-6 SIAC) outscoring
Tuskegee in a 96-75 victory at Tiger Arena.
Midway throughout the first half, with the game tied at 13, Benedict broke away on a 15-2 run to take a 28-15 lead. The Tigers shot better than 60% from the field, headed into the half with a 47-34 lead.
The Tigers outscored Tuskegee 12-3 to start the second half, producing a 22-point margin.
Benedict connected on 33-of-56 shots and had six players reach double figures.
Tim Moore led Benedict with 19 points, while
Malachi McCoy produced a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Brandon Beidleman and
Gob Gabriel each had 12 points respectively,
Brandon Smith scored 11 and
Asanti Price chipped in 10. The Tigers shot well from beyond the arc, connecting on 11-of-25 (44%) of their 3-point attempts.
Benedict advances to semifinal play Saturday where the Tigers will face Clark Atlanta University (23-5, 16-5 SIAC), the No. 1 seed in the east division.
An evening matchup saw
Edward Waters (12-17, 9-12 SIAC), the No. 6 seed in the west division, exiting the 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket after a 70-64 Morehouse (20-9, 16-5 SIAC) upset Friday.
An intense first half marked the lead for the Maroon Tigers as the team went 11-for-27 from the field and 35% (5-for-14) from three. Morehouse went into the half with a 39-31 lead over Edward Waters.
Fans saw a closely contested matchup in the second half until Morehouse stretched its lead to double figures (62-52) with 3:37 remaining in the ballgame.
A determined Edward Waters applied pressure but could not complete the comeback as Morehouse victoriously closed the contest.
Morehouse advances to semifinal play Saturday where the Maroon Tigers will face Miles (22-5, 16-4 SIAC), the No. 1 seed in the west division.
The 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket is being hosted at Savannah State University from round one to the semifinals March 3-9. The championship games will be played at Enmarket Arena on March 10. All tournament games are streaming on ESPN+. Visit the tournament championship page for more information and follow the SIAC on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) for tournament updates.
About the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.