SAVANNAH, GA (March 1, 2023) – The 2023 TIAA SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket Wireless completed the first quarterfinal rounds on Wednesday with Tuskegee, Lane, Kentucky State, and Morehouse securing semifinal spots. Check out the recaps from day five of SIAC Hoops action inside of Tiger Arena.
Game 14 (Women)
#1W (Tuskegee), 73 v. Central State, 50
Box Score
West Division top-seed Tuskegee used a dominant first half to blow past fifth-seed Central State 73-50 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 TIAA SIAC Women's Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket. The Golden Tigerettes extended their overall win streak to 15 games in the rout and are two wins away from a league title.
The game was put out of reach in the second quarter as Tuskegee (24-3) shot 55 percent from the field, scored 19 consecutive points, and held Central State (11-14) to just one field goal during the period – none coming in the final 8:30 before the half. A nine-point advantage at the end of the first quarter ballooned to 45-17 at the break.
JuToreyia Willis led TU scorers with 27 points. Sumaiyah Abdur-Rahim finished with 12 points and six assists.
Central State scoring was paced by 12 points from Naomi Shorts. Kailyn Nash nearly finished with a triple-double with numbers of 10 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks.
Up Next: Tuskegee will advance to the semifinal round on Friday at 12 p.m. to face the winner of the Savannah State-Edward Waters game.
Game 15 (Women)
#1E (Clark Atlanta), 63 v.
Lane, 67
Box Score
Lane College women's basketball overcame a nine-point deficit in the final quarter to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.
Lane chipped away at the lead of the top-seeded Clark Atlanta Panthers until they were trailing by just one point with two minutes remaining in the game. They would score the next seven points capped off by a coast-to-coast fast break layup from Tate to seal the victory.
Brailyn Tate scored 25 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in a heroic effort to lead the Dragons to victory.
Clark Atlanta’s all-conference honoree, Corriana Evans, led the Panthers with 15 points and six rebounds. Hannah White added 11 points and five rebounds while Asha Ross collected 10 points and four rebounds for the Panthers.
Up Next: Lane will move on to the semifinal round on Friday at 2:30 p.m. to face the winner of the Miles-Fort Valley State contest.
Game 16 (Men)
#1W (Tuskegee), 67 v.
Kentucky State, 81
Box Score
Kentucky State men's basketball goes on a 28-6 run in the second half to defeat the Tuskegee Golden Tigers 81-67 at the 2023 TIAA SIAC Basketball Championship in Savannah, Ga.
Montrell Jacobs led the Thorobreds will 24 points, followed by his teammates Jalon Andrews with 15, and Kong Kong and Jay Murrell scored 14 points.
A three-pointer by Jay Murrell led to a 6-0 run and an 11-5 lead with 14:49 remaining in the first half. Kong made a floating jump shot at 10:53 to give the Thorobreds a 20-12 lead. Two made free throws by the Golden Tigers tied the game 20-20 with 7:53 remaining in the first half. The Golden Tigers held a 38-29 lead at the end of the first half.
Ten straight points and a bucket layup by Jalon Andrews led to a 39-38 Kentucky State lead at 16:01 in the second half. Kong Kong made one free throw to extend the Kentucky State run to 15-0 and a 44-38 lead with 12:32 remaining in the second half. Murrell scored the final three points at the free-throw line to secure an 81-67 victory.
Tuskegee had three players scoring in double-digits. Devin Booker led the Golden Tigers with 15 points while Deveraux Davis added 13 points. D'Anthony Pennington posted 10 points in Tuskegee’s offensive effort.
Up Next: Kentucky State men's basketball will play the winner of the winner of Savannah State and Benedict on Friday, March 3 at 5 p.m. inside Tiger Arena in Savannah, Georgia.
Game 17 (Men)
#1E (Morehouse), 68 v. Lane, 64
Box Score
Morehouse secured their spot in the semifinal round and took another step towards a SIAC title on Wednesday after sealing the win with four made free-throws lifting the Maroon Tigers to a 68-64 win over Lane College.
The Maroon Tigers pulled away late in the second half taking the largest lead of the game with seven points over the Dragons. Morehouse was dominant in the paint scoring 26 points holding the lead for a full 22:59 minutes in the contest.
Kerry Richardson and Andrew Stewart led the Maroon Tigers with 14 points each. Richardson posted a double-double adding 10 rebounds. Morehouse finished the game shooting 50 percent (22-of-44) from the field, 54 percent (6-of-11) from the 3-point line, and 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the free-throw line.
The Dragons were led by Maximillion Bell with 17 points and six rebounds while Radarious Washington added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Up Next: Morehouse advances to the semifinal round on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to meet the winner of the Miles-Edward Waters matchup.