COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tajh Green scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, leading the Benedict Tigers past the Lane College Dragons, 96-83, in a SIAC men's basketball game on Saturday in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

Benedict improves to 5-7 overall and 2-3 in the SIAC. Lane College drops to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the SIAC.

Green finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while shooting a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. Tyrese Mapp added 18 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.

Benedict fell behind 17-10 four minutes into the first half. Eight straight points, including back to back three-pointers from DeShawn Graham, closed the gap to 20-18 with 11:18 left in the first half.

A 13-2 run by the Dragons would extend their lead to a game-high 13 points with 6:56 remaining in the half. The Tigers would answer back however, going on a 10-0 run, capped off by a 3-pointer from NyQuan McCombs.

Benedict would take their first lead of the game, 43-41, with 41 seconds remaining in the half off a dunk by Green. McCombs would knock down a layup as time expired to give the Tigers a 45-41 lead heading into halftime.

Benedict jumped out to a 61-49 lead with 12:53 left in the second half off a dunk by Green. With 7:05 remaining in regulation, the Tigers held a 76-64 lead. From there, Benedict would go on a 15-5 run to extend their lead to 91-69 with 3:11 left in the game.

Lane College would go on a 14-5 run to close out the game, but it would be too late as the Tigers held on for their fifth win on the year.

The Tigers outscored the Dragons 44-26 in the paint and 27-12 off turnovers.

Benedict takes a break for the Christmas holiday and will return to action on Jan. 4 with a road trip to Tuskegee University at 3 p.m.