Cornellius Reynolds 2
Cornellius Reynolds scored 19 points in the contest
88
Winner Johnson C. Smith JCSU-M 14-7, 8-4 CIAA
67
Claflin CLAFMBB 11-13, 7-6 CIAA
Winner
Johnson C. Smith JCSU-M
14-7, 8-4 CIAA
88
Final
67
Claflin CLAFMBB
11-13, 7-6 CIAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Johnson C. Smith JCSU-M 45 43 88
Claflin CLAFMBB 27 40 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Morris Wright

Johnson C. Smith Defeats Claflin in CIAA Southern Division Contest

Orangeburg, S.C. – The Claflin University defense fell victim to a hot-shooting Johnson C. Smith University team on Saturday (Feb. 8) as the Golden Bulls defeated the Panthers 88-67 in a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division at the Jonas T. Kennedy Health and Wellness Complex (Tullis Arena).
 
The loss drops Claflin three-games under the .500 win-loss mark for the season at 11-14 and even its conference record at 7-7 with three regular season games left. The Panthers will visit Fayetteville State University (Feb. 12) and Livingstone College (Feb. 19) next week before closing out the regular season at home against Elizabeth City State University (Feb. 22) for Senior Day.
 
Cornellius Reynolds scored 19 points, his second best offensive output of the season in leading the Panthers.  Reynolds went 7-for-9 from the field with two three-point baskets and led the team in rebounds with seven.
 
Donnell Frayer, Jr. followed Reynolds in the scoring column for the Panthers with 17 points that included three, three-pointers. Devin Smith rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points with five assists. Brandon Davis came off the bench to score eight points for Claflin.
 
Johnson C. Smith, now 14-7 overall and 9-4 in the conference, was led by Nenad Milenkovic with a game-high 21 points followed by Cayse Minor at 20 points. Austin Nelson had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
 
In the contest, the Golden Bulls shot 61.3-percent (30-for-49) from the floor, including 70.6-percent (12-for-17) beyond the three-point line.
 
The Panthers entered the game as the CIAA best at defending the three-pointer, allowing 5.7 made baskets per game and holding opponents to 30.6-percent. The Claflin defense did manage to hold Johnson C. Smith to 33.3-percent (2-for-6) in the second half.
 
The Panthers shot 50-percent (28-for-56) from the floor but struggled from three-point range at 25.0-percent (5-for-20).
 
Johnson C. Smith held a sizeable advantage in rebounding at 37-17. The Panthers converted the 21 Golden Bull turnovers into 22 points.
 
Leading 45-27 the half, Johnson C. Smith increased the margin to 61-34 with 11:20 left by outscoring the Panthers 16-7.
 
The last 10 minutes of the game saw the Claflin offense roll past Johnson C. Smith, outscoring the Golden Bulls, 33-27, over that period.
 
Using the three-pointer to their advantage, the Golden Bulls jumped out in front 25-13 at the midway point of the opening half. The Panthers reeled off eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to four, 25-21, with 6:46 on the clock.
 
Davis scored four of the eight points during the Panthers scoring spree.
 
The Golden Bulls, which hit 10-of-11 three-pointers in the half, connected on three during a 14-2 run. The offensive outburst expanded the Johnson C. Smith lead to 39-23 with 4:15 left in the half.
 
Reynolds halted the Golden Bulls run for a brief moment, hitting a short range jumper from the corner, as Claflin trailed 39-25 at the 3:33 mark. The Panthers would add only more basket the rest of the half, while Johnson C. Smith chalking up six more points to lead 45-27 at intermission.
 
In the first half, Johnson C. Smith shot a sizzling 60.0-percent (15-for-25) from the field compared to 44.4 percent for Claflin.
 
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