Men's Basketball 2/18/2020 5:05:00 PM Morris Wright, SID

Claflin Visits Livingstone for CIAA Double-header

Salisbury, N.C. – The Claflin University men's and women's basketball teams will be out to end losing streaks on Wednesday (Feb. 19) when they travel to Livingstone College for a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Southern Division double-header.

Action gets underway at 5:30 p.m. with the women's contest followed by the men's approximately 20 minutes after the completion of the first game. Both games will be played inside the New Trent Gymnasium on the Livingstone campus.

In the men's matchup, Claflin hopes to end a three-game tailspin. A win over Livingstone would keep the Panthers in a battle for third place within the division along with Fayetteville State. Claflin is 7-8 in the conference, a ½-game behind Fayetteville State, which holds an 8-7 record.

The Panthers are 11-15 overall.

In the first meeting between the two teams, Claflin came away with a 71-67 win, snapping a four-game slide at the time. Devin Smith poured in team-high 17 points and Haneef Britt posted his only double-figure game this season of 10 points with two blocked shots.

The Claflin offense host two players averaging in double-digits, Letrell West with 13.2 points and Brandon Davis at 10.6 points. Three other Panthers are close to averaging in double-figures, Smith with 8.6 points followed by Donnell Frayer, Jr. and Cornellius Reynolds at 8.5 points each.

Livingstone, which holds down fifth place in the division with a conference record of 5-10, is 12-14 overall. The Blue Beards is led in scoring by Roger Ray and the Elmore twins in Lydell and Navar, former Branchville High School standouts.

Ray leads the team in scoring at 23.0 points with 65 three-pointers and 5.0 assists per game. Lydell Elmore is next in scoring for Livingstone at 16.0 points followed by Navar Elmore with 7.7 points.

In the women's contest, the Lady Panthers will seek to improve their 1-23 overall record with a win. Claflin has dropped its last four games after winning for the first time this season, defeating Saint Augustine's University 57-47 last month.

Claflin is 1-11 in the conference.

In the last meeting, Livingstone rallied to defeat Claflin 75-65, despite Dashia Jackson's game-high of 21 points.

Dionna Long leads three players in double-figures for the Lady Panthers at 12.2 points followed by Jackson and Shakarri Mack with 11.8 points and 11.0 points, respectively.

The trio is accounting for 64.5-percent of the Lady Panthers offensive scoring and 80.1-percent of made three-point field goals.

Livingstone, 12-13 overall and 6-9 in the conference, is led by Daisa Harris with 17.9 points and Darra Walker at 11 points.

After the road contest at Livingstone, both Claflin teams will return home for their regular-season finale against Elizabeth City State University (Feb. 22) for Senior Day.

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Players Mentioned

#42 Haneef Britt: F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior

#24 Brandon Davis: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#2 Cornellius Reynolds: G/F; 6' 6"; Junior

#0 Dashia Jackson: G; 5' 6"; Freshman

#11 Dionna Long: G; 5' 4"; Freshman

#20 Shakarri Mack: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#4 Devin Smith: Guard; 6' 1"; Junior

#11 Letrell West: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#12 Donnell Frayer, Jr.: G; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#42 Haneef Britt
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#24 Brandon Davis
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G

#2 Cornellius Reynolds
: 6' 6"; Junior
: G/F

#0 Dashia Jackson
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: G

#11 Dionna Long
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: G

#20 Shakarri Mack
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#4 Devin Smith
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Guard

#11 Letrell West
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#12 Donnell Frayer, Jr.
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G