COLUMBIA, S.C. – LeMoyne-Owen used a 12-0 run in the second half to pull away and take an 86-79 victory over the Benedict College Tigers on Saturday afternoon in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena in their first official home game of the season.

Benedict falls to 0-5 on the season and 0-1 in the SIAC. LeMoyne-Owen improves to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the SIAC.

The Magicians held as much as a 10-point lead early in the first half, 18-8, before the Tigers scored the next 12 points to take a 20-18 lead. The game stayed close the rest of the half with LeMoyne-Owen holding a 41-38 lead at the half.

The Tigers had a 56-51 lead in the second half after a pair of free throws by Ricky Peterson. The Magicians scored the next 12 points for a 63-56 lead with 10:52 remaining in the contest. Romello Jones ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer, but that was as close as the Tigers would get. The Magicians built as much as a 14-point lead, 82-68, with 1:55 left in the game.

Jones led the Tigers with 17 points. Jasiah Perry added 15 points. Tyrease Mapp added 11 points and had a team-high nine rebounds. Kelvin Omojola also scored 11 points.

Jerry Hurt led LeMoyne-Owen with 21 points.

Benedict returns to action on Monday with a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Lane College.