ATLANTA, Ga. – The Benedict College Tigers advanced to the championship game of the 2012 SIAC Men's Basketball Tournament with a dominating 74-53 victory over eighth-seeded Fort Valley State University on Friday at Morehouse College's Forbes Arena.

The fourth-seeded Tigers will face second seed LeMoyne-Owen College at 7 p.m. on Saturday. LeMoyne-Owen rallied back to defeat Paine in the other men's semifinal earlier in the day.

Benedict got 18 points from Trevor Eichelberger, including three 3-pointers to spark the Tigers. Marcus Goode had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Rickie Jackson had 12 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and Cassius Bell added 11 points.

Brandon Davey had 19 points to lead the Wildcats, while Desmond Lofland added 11.

The Tigers broke away from a close game by closing out the first half with a 14-3 run, with Tydran Beaty throwing down a dunk and sinking the free throw after he was fouled for a 39-26 lead with 30 seconds left in the half. Fort Valley hit a free throw before the half ended to make it 39-27 at the break.

Eichelberger opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and the Tigers maintained at least a 12-point lead for the rest of the game.

A flamboyant alley-oop dunk from Bell to Beaty gave Benedict its first 20-point lead, 66-45, with 5:17 to play.

The Tigers shot 47.8 percent for the game, while holding Fort Valley State to 31.1 percent, including just 25 percent in the second half. Benedict connected on 10 3-pointers and out-rebounded the Wildcats 40-35.

The Tigers now look to bring home their first tournament title since 2008 on Saturday. Benedict dropped two close games to the Magicians this season, falling 65-33 on the road, and 49-45 at home in the final game of the regular season.