South Carolina HBCU Sports This Week

*Tigers Fall To Miles In SIAC Championship Game*

The Benedict College Tigers, playing their fifth game in seven days at the 2023 TIAA SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket, had a cold shooting night and dropped a 60-46 decision to the Miles Golden Bears on Saturday night in the championship game.

Benedict shot just 26.2 percent, connecting on 17-of-65 attempts. Dontavius King led the Tigers with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting. No other Tiger scored in double figures and the rest of the team combined to make 10-of-48 shots, or 20.8 percent.

"We got off to a very slow start and couldn't make a shot," said Benedict head coach Artis Maddox. "Hats off to Miles. They forced us into those tough shots and got rebounds and they scored and we couldn't get a basket. We dug ourselves a hole, tried to come back, and fell a little short at the end."

Benedict ends it season at 22-10 overall. Miles, now 23-6, earns the SIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Championships.

The Golden Bears scored the first seven points of the game. The Tigers were able to come back and tie the game, the final time at 16-16. Benedict trailed 23-19 with 3:09 left in the first half, but the Golden Bears scored the final 10 points of the half, including a buzzer-beating shot from more than half court by Yasim Hooker to give Miles a 33-19 lead at the break.

Miles scored the first two baskets of the second half to build their largest lead of the game, 37-19. Miles still had a 17-point lead, 47-30, midway through the second half when the Tigers put together a run to cut the lead to 49-41 with 4:24 left in the game after a fast-break dunk by Malachi McCoy. McCoy and King were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

Benedict missed their next five shot attempts and Miles pushed the lead back to 14 points with 1:13 left to play. The Golden Bears scored the final nine points at the free-throw line to secure the championship.

Benedict lost in the SIAC Tournament championship game for the second year in a row.

"We've just got to handle business and play better," Maddox said. "No excuses, we just have to play better. It doesn't matter if we have to play five games, four games, three games, two games or one game. On the biggest stage, we have to play better. I've got to do a better job of getting these guys prepared. I've got to do a better job coaching. I've got to do a better job overall. I'll take the blame for this loss."

*Allen Women's Track Competes at UNC-Wilmington*

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Allen University women's track and field team competed at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Wilmington.

Freshman Measha Jones and sophomore Aisha Patterson led the Lady Sprinters on Saturday in the 100 meter dash placing 11th and 12th respectively with times of 12.9 seconds. Sophomore Shakeryah Passmore then finished right behind the Allen duo in 14th place in a time of 13.1 seconds while freshman Jasmine Mayes came in 20th also in 13.8 seconds.

Junior Teleah Moorer then led Allen by finishing 4th out of 12 in the 100 meter Hurdles in 15.36 seconds, the second best time among D-2 sprinters. Sophomore Ayani Taylor then placed 7th in the 400 meter Hurdles in a time of 1:20 as well.

The women's 4x100 meter relay team consisting of Patterson, Mayes, Jones and Kiana Pack then placed 5th.

In the field events, the Jackets were led by sophomore Kourtney English in the High Jump as she placed 10th with a mark of 1.45 meters (4.9 feet). Jones then finished in a impressive 5th out of 21 in the Long Jump with a mark of 5.2 meters (over 17 feet) while English also competed and placed 14th with a mark of 4.3 meters (14 feet).

Finally, freshman Kaiyah Robinson then competed in the Shot Put on Friday placing 18th out of 30 with a mark of 8.7 meters (28.5 feet) while she then placed 13th in the Discus Throw with a mark of 29.6 meters (97 feet).

*Lady Panthers Take a 4-2 Win Over Converse*

The Claflin Lady Panthers (6-5) returned to the diamond with a great performance in a 4-2 win over the Converse Valkyries (7-10), Tuesday afternoon. It was some great pitching and some timely hitting the led the Lady Panthers to the win.

The Lady Panthers played some great defense to claim the win. Senior pitcher Jaelyn Jackson (3-3) led the way as she held Converse to just three hits with six strikeouts in the game. Senior designated player Jasmine Dukesled the way for the Lady Panthers, going three-for-three with a triple, a run scored and an RBI.
With the win, the Lady Panthers improve to 6-5. The two teams would go on to complete the doubleheader later in the day. For more information on Lady Panthers softball, contact the Claflin University Office of Athletics Media Relations at (803) 535-5548 or log on to www.athletics.claflin.edu.