The Tuskegee Golden Tigers took care of business in the quarterfinals of the SIAC basketball tournament, overwhelming the Benedict Tigers in the second half on their way to a 70-53 win.
The first half was a game of runs, beginning with Tuskegee jumping out to a 16-6 lead in the first eight minutes.
Senior guard RJ Walker provided the Golden Tigers with a significant contribution in the early going, scoring seven of their first 16 points.
First-half was defined by runs
However, Benedict responded with a monstrous 19-0 scoring run, during which they made seven of eight shots from the field to take a nine-point lead with 5:18 left in the first half.
While Tuskegee would tie the game before the end of the half, it was Benedict who went into the second half with a 30-26 lead.
From there, it was all Golden Tigers, outscoring the Tigers 44-23 in the second half to cruise into the semifinals of the SIAC tournament.
Despite finishing at the bottom of the conference in three-point shooting during the regular season, the Golden Tigers found the range to take the lead in the second half.
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That trey ball was working
They shot 8-of-12 from three-point range (shot 11-of-20 from the field in the half overall), including sophomore guard Roy Obsaint hitting five of his six threes.
In contrast, Benedict went cold from the field in the second half, shooting 31% from the field and hitting just 3-of-16 three-point attempts.
Tuskegee is seeking its first conference title since 2014 after having lost in last year’s championship game against Savannah State.
First, they will have to contend with the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Lemoyne-Owen and Clark Atlanta in the semifinals on Friday.
