CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Benedict College Tigers remained unbeaten on the season as they held off a furious comeback by Livingstone to take an 81-78 victory over the Blue Bears in the Claude Sanders / JCSU Tipoff Classic hosted by Johnson C. Smith on Saturday afternoon.

Benedict held as much as a 19-point lead in the first half and had a 54-43 lead with 16:19 left in the game before the Blue Bears staged a big rally. The Tigers held a 64-55 lead with 10:35 left to play when Livingstone outscored Benedict 9-1 to cut the lead to 65-64 with 5:45 left to play. Livingstone tied the game at 72, but Jelani Watson-Gayle answered with a 3-pointer for the Tigers with 1:29 on the clock.

After the Blue Bears hit one free throw, Rodney Prichard scored on a layup with just over a minute left. Livingstone answered with a 3-pointer to make it 77-76 with 53 seconds left. After a missed shot by Livingstone, Brandon Morris snatched the rebound and was fouled. He sank both free throws for a 79-76 lead with 15 seconds left. Cairo Brown added two free throws five seconds later for an 81-76 lead.

The win improves the Tigers to 5-0 on the season. Livingstone falls to 0-2.

Morris led Benedict with 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Gayle added 14 points. Brown scored 13 and Umar Frost chipped in with 11.

Benedict is back in action on Tuesday, with a home game against Augusta University at 7:30 p.m.