FORT VALLEY, Ga. – The Benedict College Tigers cut a 15-point second-half deficit down to three points with less than two minutes to go, but couldn't stop Fort Valley State down the stretch as the Wildcats took an 80-71 victory on Monday night.

Benedict dropped to 3-19 overall and 2-10 in the SIAC. Fort Valley State improved to 6-17 overall and 5-7 in the SIAC.

Romello Jones opened the game with a four-point play for the Tigers, but the Wildcats scored the next nine points and never trailed again. Fort Valley State had a 33-24 lead at the half and grew the lead to 58-43 with 9:33 left in the game. The Tigers chipped away at the lead until Davante Wiltshire hit a 3-pointer with 1:54 left to make it 70-63. The Wildcats scored the next seven points to push the lead back to 10 points and sealed the game by going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the final 47 seconds.

Jones led Benedict with 20 points, while DeShawn Graham added 12 and Kelvin Omojola chipped in with 10 points.

The Tigers return home for a non-conference matchup against rival Claflin on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.