BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Benedict College men's basketball team connected on 10 3-pointers and defeated LeMoyne-Owen College 72-69 to advance to the quarterfinals of the SIAC Men's Basketball Tournament on Monday in the Bill Harris Arena.

Cairo Brown led the Tigers with 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Brandon Morris had a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Morris also had a team-high four assists. Jelani Watson-Gayle also reached double-figures with 12 points, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers.

Benedict, now 20-9 overall, advances to face Central State, the No. 1 seed from the West Division on Wednesday night at 8:45 p.m.

LeMoyne-Owen ends the season at 9-18. Rashawn Ellis led the Magicians with 19 points.

Benedict built as much as a 12-point lead in the first half and took a 35-25 lead into halftime. In the second half, a 3-pointer by Brown gave the Tigers a 64-54 lead with 3:46 left in the game. The Magicians cut the lead to three points, 66-63, on a three-point play by Martez Briggs. Rodney Prichard answered with a 3-pointer for the Tigers. Ellis followed with a 3-pointer for the Magicians to make it 69-66 with 25 seconds left. Benedict closed out the game with three free throws before Ellis hit another 3-pointer to close out the scoring.

Benedict shot 41 percent (25-of-61) for the game and 40 percent (10-of-25) from 3-point range. LeMoyne-Owen shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) for the game and 30 percent (3-of-10) from 3-point range.

Benedict beat Central State 71-69 in their only regular-season meeting, a New Year's Day game in Wilberforce, Ohio.