AUGUSTA, Ga. – Paine College used a 19-2 run over the first eight minutes of the second half and held off a late Benedict rally to take an 82-74 victory over Benedict College on Saturday afternoon.

Paine improves to 6-20 overall and 2-14 in the SIAC with two conference games left on their schedule next week. Benedict closes out the regular season with a 16-11 overall record and 11-7 in the SIAC.

Paine's senior center Kaderious Compton scored a career-high 33 points to lead the Lions.

Benedict was led by freshman Tyoun Shuford, who scored a season-high 16 points.

The Lions had a large rebounding advantage, outrebounding the Tigers 57-27.

Paine took its largest lead, 73-53, with 3:29 left in the game. The Tigers scored the next 11 points to cut the lead under double digits. A 3-pointer by Shuford with a minute left in the game made it 74-69, but the Tigers could not get any closer.

Benedict, the defending SIAC champions, will have next week off before heading to the SIAC Tournament in Birmingham, Ala. The Tigers are currently in second place in the SIAC East Division. Morehouse leads the East at 9-6 with three games to play next week. Benedict can finish no worse than second as Claflin sits in third place with a 10-8 record. Morehouse can clinch the top spot in the East by winning two of their final three games. If Benedict remains in second place, the Tigers will play Tuesday, March 1, at 9:15 p.m. Central time against the seventh seed from the West. The official tournament pairings will be released later by the SIAC.