SAVANNAH, GA (March 4, 2024) — The second round of the 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket saw
Savannah State,
Allen,
Benedict, and
Edward Waters advancing to quarterfinal rounds after two days of conference matchups.
Savannah State (13-13, 10-11 SIAC), the No. 5 seed in the east division, defeated a formidable
Kentucky State (12-14, 9-11 SIAC), the No. 4 seed in the west division, 87-71 after a closely contested second half on the Tigers’ home court Tuesday.
Savannah State gained control of the ball at tipoff, setting the tone for the strategic plays to follow. Sophomore
Javonte Landy was the first to make his mark on the board, recording two points on a right-side jumper before leading the Tigers in scoring with a team high 21 points, despite pressure applied by Kentucky State’s
Brandon Hill early on.
The Tigers kept their plays intentional as they closed out the first half. A Thorobreds’ foul placed Landy at the charity stripe where he connected 1-of-2 free throws, adding to the Tigers’ lead going into halftime (42-30).
The second half saw the Thorobreds applying pressure early on. A Javonte Landy foul gave the Thorobreds control of the ball before a missed three pointer from Brandon Hill put the Tigers back in short-lived offensive play.
The Tigers’
Michael Swift dominated in the paint as he put up impressive numbers, leaving his mark with a second half dunk and reverse lay in. The freshman guard connected 70% from the field and 100% from the free throw line, greatly contributing to a personal-best 18 points in the contest.
Savannah State will advance to quarterfinal play to face
Clark Atlanta (22-5, 16-5 SIAC), the No. 3 seed in the east division, at noon Thursday at Tiger Arena.
Allen (10-11, 15-15 SIAC), the No. 4 seed in the east division, earned its 15th win of the season in an afternoon victory over Lane Tuesday, 57-41, marking the most wins in a single season on the Yellow Jacket’s NCAA era.
Lane (8-12, 11-16 SIAC), the No. 5 seed in the west division, took charge of the game early on despite the absence of their leading scorer,
Darell Johnson, who faced an injury in a previous contest. The Dragons’
K’Juan Banks was the first to put points on the board with a three-point jumper, followed by a
Floyd Williams lay in.
Allen took the lead at 11:53 with a strategic play from
G'Shan Aldridge and
Peyton Weathersby, paving the way for an
Austin James three-point jumper. The Yellow Jackets continued their momentum on a 6-0 run, before a jumper from Aldridge gave Allen a 27-19 advantage going into halftime.
The second half opened with applied pressure from both teams, halting scoring for the first three minutes of the half.
Tyriq McAdoo broke the silence, connecting on a transition layup. Later plays saw Austin James with a jump shot with five minutes remaining in the contest.
Aldridge led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points and five assists. Austin James and
Malik Lacewell, also with double figures, closed the contest with 10 points respectively.
Allen will advance to quarterfinal play, where the team will face
Miles College (21-5, 16-4 SIAC).
Day two of the second round saw Benedict College (21-6, 15-6 SIAC) outscoring
LeMoyne-Owen (9-18, 6-14 SIAC) in a 90-76 victory at Tiger Arena.
Brandon Beidleman led the Tigers in scoring with a season-high 22 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field.
Calvin McCutcheon found his rhythm on offense, recording two offensive rebounds and four assists to accompany his 18-point finish.
The Tiger’s dynamic plays kept them in the lead for the duration of the contest despite the slower pace of the game.
LeMoyne-Owen trimmed the lead to 74-68 with 3:35 remaining in the second half, but
Malachi McCoy answered the Magicians with a three-pointer, followed by Brandon Beidleman’s three-point play and a McCutcheon fast-break layup for an 82-68 lead with 1:51 remaining.
The Tigers closed the contest with six points in the final 30 seconds, advancing to quarterfinal play Friday where they will face
Tuskegee University (13-14, 12-8 SIAC), the No. 2 seed in the west division.
An evening matchup saw
Spring Hill (14-13, 11-9 SIAC) exiting the 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket after a 66-62 Edward Waters (12-17, 9-11 SIAC) upset Wednesday.
D’Shun Edwards made his mark on the board early on with a jumper in the paint at 19:19, while plays by
Goliath Mitchell and
RJ Noord gave the Tigers a four-point lead in the first half.
Entering the second half, the Badgers went point for point as both teams continued to apply pressure.
As the Tigers’ leading scorer,
Trevino Glover recorded 13 points in the contest.
Edward Waters will advance to quarterfinal play, where the team will face a formidable
Morehouse College (19-9, 16-5 SIAC), the No. 2 seed in the east 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,
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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.