COLUMBIA, S.C. – A collective effort from the Benedict College Tigers helped to defeat Fort Valley State University, 85-67, on Monday night in a SIAC men's basketball game.
Benedict improves to 10-12 and 6-6 in the SIAC. Fort Valley State falls to 5-16 and 3-9 in the SIAC.
Four Tigers made it into double figures: Joseph Staton (24), Romello Jones (22), Malachi McCoy (11), and Deon Joyner (10). NyQuan McCombs also had an all-around solid performance, scoring six points, bringing down five rebounds, and dishing seven assists in the win.
Benedict jumped out to an early 27-15 lead with 8:33 remaining in the first half off a dunk from McCoy. The Tigers held a 44-30 advantage heading into the break. A 24-10 run by the Wildcats closed the gap to 54-50 with 13:12 left in the game.
The Tigers proceeded to go on a 16-4 run to extend their lead back to double-digits, 70-54, with 7:52 remaining in regulation. Benedict extended their lead to a game-high 24 points with 1:17 left off an incredible alley-oop from McCombs to McCoy.
Benedict held the advantage in points scored off turnovers (23-8) and points scored in the paint (44-26).
The Tigers will travel to Fort Valley State on Saturday at 3 p.m.