By Special to the Daily World
The Benedict College Tigers used a 13-0 second-half run to pull away from LeMoyne-Owen College and capture the 2012 SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship with a 58-42 victory over the Magicians on March 3 at Morehouse College’s Forbes Arena.
The victory ensures the Tigers make their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years. Benedict improved to 19-10 overall.
Marcus Goode, the tournament’s MVP, led the Tigers with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Tydran Beaty added 13 points.
The Magicians took their first lead of the game 32-29 on a 3-pointer by Deyquan Nesbit with 12:38 left to play. The Tigers came back and tied the game when Trevor Eichelberger drilled a 3-pointer. That bucket kicked off a 13-0 run with Goode scoring back-to-back buckets inside, then Rickie Jackson and Antrjuan Albright hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
The Magicians got a three-point play from Calvin Stoudemire, who led LeMoyne-Owen College with 20 points, but then the Tigers scored eight more straight points, highlighted by a dunk from Beaty from a high-post pass from Goode. Another jumper by Beaty and a driving layup by Goode gave the Tigers a 50-35 lead with 3:19 left to play.
LeMoyne-Owen dropped to 18-11 on the season.
The Tigers shot 44.7 percent for the game. After missing all nine 3-point attempts in the first half, they made 5-of-10 in the second half. The Tigers held LeMoyne-Owen to 30 percent shooting for the game.
The first half was close, with the Tigers taking a 19-11 lead before the Magicians cut the lead to 19-17. Benedict pulled back ahead 23-19 before Stoudemire scored on a dunk and an offensive rebound, sandwiched around a Beaty free throw for a 24-21 halftime Benedict lead.
The championship is Benedict’s first since 2008 and their third all-time. Benedict will find out its opponent for the NCAA Tournament during the March 10 NCAA selection show, which will be available on the NCAA website www.ncaa.com.
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