Columbia, S.C.— The Claflin University men's basketball team scored the final six points of the contest en route to defeating Benedict College, 56-51, in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Eastern Division matchup.
 
The win, the ninth in 10 games, push the Panthers to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in the SIAC.
 
Benedict falls to 11-9 overall and 8-3 in the SIAC.
 
"Benedict is a tough team and Coach Watson does a great job with them," said head coach Ricky Jackson.  "It was a great game, and I'm very proud of the way the guys fought.  They fought really hard in the second half."
 
Ryan McNeill-Moses and Triston Thompson recorded double-figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. 
 
Jaleel Charles came off the bench to pull in a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
Austin Lawton had an effective game scoring seven points, including four straight free-throws down the stretch, with nine rebounds and three block shots.
 
McNeill-Moses and Benjamin Williams pulled in seven rebounds each for the Panthers.
 
Benedict was led by Brandon Morris with game highs in points and rebounds at 25 and 11, respectively.
 
Quayshun Hawkins scored nine points for the Tigers in the loss.
 
Claflin opened the second half on a 15-3 run over the first seven-plus minutes to take its first lead of the game, 37-33 with 13:50 remaining.
 
The Panthers pushed its lead to 42-39 with just under 13 minutes remaining but Benedict kept pressing.  After taking a 30-second timeout, the Tigers used a 7-3 run to regain the one-point lead, 46-45, with 7:09 remaining.
 
The Tigers increased its lead to 50-47 but Claflin remained poised down the stretch en route to the five point win.
 
After the teams exchanged baskets over the first 23 points, Benedict gained the momentum.  The Tigers used a 13-3 run to take a 24-14 advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the half. 
 
The Panthers then used an 8-0 run of their own to pull within two, 24-22, with 1:48 remaining in the half.
 
Benedict rattled off six straight points to close the half up by eight, 30-22.
 
The Panthers will return home on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they host Clark-Atlanta in a SIAC Eastern Division matchup.  Tip-off will follow the women's game at approximately 3:30 p.m.
 
It will be senior day where the five senior members of the men's basketball team will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.