COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict Tigers won their third straight game and stayed in the hunt for the SIAC championship with a 56-48 victory over Miles College on Tuesday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

In a contest where both teams struggled shooting, the Tigers hit five of six free throws in the final minute and a half to seal the victory.

Benedict improved to 11-8 overall and 10-7 in the SIAC. Miles College dropped to 9-11 overall and 9-9 in the SIAC.

Marcus Goode led another balanced Tiger offense with 12 points and nine rebounds. Rickie Jackson added eight points and six rebounds, and Lamar Adkins had seven points.

Ron Foxx led Miles with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Charles Gordon and Michael Cofield added 10 points each.

The Tigers shot just 34.5 percent for the game, including a dismal 2-for-23 from 3-point range. Benedict also shot 53.3 percent from the free-throw line, making 16-of-30 attempts.

The Golden Bears also had their shooting struggles. Miles shot 37.5 percent from the floor and also misfired from 3-point range, making 2-of-13 attempts. Miles also had a rough night at the free-throw line, making just 4-of-14 attempts.

The Tigers went on a 15-2 run to close out the first half to take a 29-17 lead at the break. A jumper by Trevor Eichelberger early in the second half gave the Tigers a 39-19 lead.

But the Golden Bears stormed back, outscoring the Tigers 22-4 to cut the lead to 45-41 with 5:16 to play. An alley-oop dunk from Mark Young to Tydran Beaty gave Benedict a 47-41 lead with five minutes left and Young added a pair of free throws to make it 49-41.

The Golden Bears made it 51-47 on a jumper by Foxx, but Rickie Jackson and Beaty sank free throws to help secure the victory.

Benedict continues its five-game homestand on Thursday against Tuskegee, the current SIAC leader. Gametime is 7:30 p.m.