Game 1: Fort Valley rolls past Lane
#4E Fort Valley State 100, #5W Lane 101
Jayme Gilbert scored a game-high 19 points and was one of five players to score in double figures to help #4E Fort Valley State University cruise to a 100-61 win over #5W Lane College in the opening round of the 2013 SIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament played at Franklin L. Forbes Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
The #4 seed in the East, Fort Valley State University, (14-12), dominated the #5 seed in the West, Lane early with pressure defense and fast break points.
The win placed the Lady Wildcats in the quarterfinals against the top seed in the West, the Lady Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University, Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
With the loss the Lady Dragons were eliminated from the tournament.
The game, however, started off well for the Lane as the Lady Dragons held an early lead 4-1 in the first three minutes of play. After a time-out by Lady Wildcats’ Coach Lonnie Bartley and mass substitutions, on the next three possessions the Lady Wildcats took the lead the5-4, and never looked back in rout to the 39 point victory.
Lane, (7-18), was led by Marissa Stewart with 16 points, followed by Katora Fleming with 14 points.
Antionna Jefferson added 16 points, D’Ambria Thomas had 14 points, Dominique Collier chip in with 13 points, while Briana Shepherd had 10 points to round up the players scoring in double figures.
Game 2: Claflin pulls away in the final minutes to sneak past Lane
#4E Claflin 79, #5W Lane 68
In a game that went down to the wire, Claflin University used a late run to create separation in its 79-68 victory over Lane College in the opening round of the 2013 SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Claflin’s Jarrod Denard led all scorers with a game high 22 points, Michael Jones tallied 18 points, and David Glover tossed in 11 points, all of the Panthers’ bench to lead the Panthers to a quarterfinals matchup Wednesday afternoon at 3:15 against #1W Tuskegee at Forbes Arena.
Trailing 32-28 at the half, Claflin found it difficult to shake off the physical play of the Dragons, until midway through the second half, when Panthers took a 56-54 lead.
With less than two minutes remaining Claflin built its largest lead of the contest when they extended the lead to 77-65, as Lane needed to foul and score. Free throws down the stretch proved to be crucial for the Panthers, converting on 6-6, as they advanced in the tournament.
With the loss, Lane (7-18) was eliminated from the tournament.
The Dragons were led in scoring by Jaqualen Franklin with 17 points, while Shoquan Stevens added 16 points.
Claflin’s Jarrod Denard led all scorers with a game high 22 points, Michael Jones tallied 18 points, and David Glover tossed in 11 points, all of the Panthers’ bench.
Game 3: Lady Rams have dominant second half to shut down Lady Bears
#5E Albany State 13, #4W Miles 51
Kedeemya Cooper had the first double-double of the tournament, with 17 rebounds to go with 12 points and April Thomas led all scorers with 18 points as #5E Albany State defeated #4W Miles 73-51 in the first round of the 2013 SIAC Basketball Tournament.
Kourtney Alexander added 10 of her 16 points in the first half to give the Lady Rams three players in double figures in the win. Albany State will move on to face Benedict College, the top seed in the East Division on Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Shierkerrieal Nelson has 16 points for Miles in a losing effort, but she was the only player on her team to score in double figures. The Lady Bears shot just 26.8 percent from the floor for the game, compared to 43.9 percent for Albany State. Miles also was outrebounded by a margin of 50-31.
Albany State already had a nine-point lead over Miles College at halftime, but no doubt was left in the second half about who would try to get a shot at redemption against the East Division Champion Lady Tigers of Benedict College.
The early evening game on Monday night was the third consecutive game on the day in which the result from a tournament matchup was the same as the regular season matchup between cross-division rivals. Albany State picked up a 71-64 win over the Lady Bears on the road in Alabama during their regular season contest played Jan. 12.
Albany State will try to break that trend when they square up with Benedict.
The Lady Tigers swept the regular season series with the Lady Rams, defeating them 77-42 in a game played Jan. 19 at home in Columbia, S.C. before taking the second game in Georgia with a 84-72 victory on Feb. 7.
Game 4: Despite furious rally by Miles, Albany State prevails
#5E Albany State 67, #4W Miles 63
Jaren Harris scored a game-high 32 points to lead Albany State University to a 67-63 win over Miles in the opening round of the 2013 Men’s SIAC Basketball Tournament.
The All-Conference selection, Harris, didn’t like the outcome of the initial game that Albany State University played against Miles College during the regular season.
In result, he decided to make an immediate impact when the Rams scoring 20 first half points and shooting 6-for-9 from behind the arch. While the Golden Bears were in hibernation, Albany State built a 12 point lead late in the second half.
Despite trailing in double figures, Miles sparked a furious comeback to finally take their first lead after halftime with 3:31 remaining in the game.
But, Carlos Clayborn missed a pair of free throws that would have given Miles a one-point lead with 4.4 seconds remaining, and Albany State survived while completing a sweep of both teams from Miles on Day 1 of the SIAC Tournament.
Clayborn was one of four players for Miles to score in double figures, as he finished with 11 points. Ty Lollar and Lanarrian Key also finished with 11, and Michael Cofield was the team’s leading scorer, as he finished with 18 on the game. Lollar was also the leading rebounder in the game, as he finished with eight boards, putting him two rebounds away from a double-double.
Miles became the first team in the SIAC Tournament that was unable to get a victory over a team that they had defeated in the regular season cross-division matchup, as the Golden Bears were victorious over Albany State in a 75-69 game played at home Jan. 12.
Next up for the Rams is a matchup against Benedict College, scheduled for a Wednesday night tipoff at 7:45 p.m. inside Forbes Arena. In the regular season, the Rams dropped both regular season games against the Tigers by an average margin of 20 points.
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