BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Benedict College men's and women's basketball teams begin their quest for a conference championship at the 2019 SIAC Basketball Tournament at the Bill Harris Arena in the Birmingham Crossplex complex.

The men's team, seeded sixth in the East, takes on Lane College, the third seed from the West, at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Fans can watch the action live on FloSports here, and live stats are available here.

Benedict, 4-23 overall in coach Artis Maddox's first season, will be looking to play spoiler in the conference tournament. The Tigers will look to knock off the Dragons, 14-10 overall, in their first matchup. Benedict is led by Romello Jones, averaging 11.5 points and 5.4 rebounds, while DeShawn Graham averages 11.3 points and a team-high 54 3-pointers.

Benedict dropped an overtime decision to the Dragons, 95-87, early in the season on Nov. 26. Lane's Terrence Holt hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to send the game into overtime, then made four 3-pointers in the extra period. Kelvin Omojola scored his season-high of 24 points against the Dragons.

Lane is led by 6-7 forward Kendarius Ash, the three-time SIAC Defensive Player of the Year. He led the SIAC with an average of 11.6 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth-best in Division II. He also registered 23 blocked shots.

The winner of Tuesday's game advances to a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. against Albany State, the second seed from the East.

The Benedict Lady Tigers, 20-6 overall, went undefeated in conference play and look to add on three more wins for their fourth conference championship in the last six years under Coach James Rice and seventh overall in school history. Rice was named SIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his seven-year career.

Benedict will open their tournament run on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of Monday night's contest between Lane College (fourth seed from the West) and Paine College (fifth seed from the East). That game will be available to watch on FloSports here, and live stats available here.

Benedict beat Lane 65-61 on Nov. 26 despite shooting just 32 percent. The Lady Tigers swept the Paine Lions in two meetings, winning 79-78 in Augusta when Mahogany Randall hit the game-winning free throw with two seconds left. Benedict won by 10 points in Columbia.

Benedict is led by SIAC Player of the Year Ay'Anna Bey. The sophomore forward leads the SIAC in both scoring (23.8 points per game) and rebounding (12.7 rebounds per game), while also shooting 62.2 percent from the floor. She ranks seventh nationally in scoring, second in rebounding and fifth in field goal percentage. Guard Ayanna Armstead averages 13.2 points per game and ranks second in the SIAC in both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage. She was named first-team All-SIAC.

The winner of Wednesday's game advances to the semifinals on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The women's championship game is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Tournament tickets are available for purchase here.