BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Lane College Dragons used a 9-0 run late in the second half to rally and defeat the Benedict College Tigers, 86-84, in the opening round of the 2019 SIAC Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Bill James Arena.

Benedict, the sixth seed from the East Division, had a 76-71 lead with 3:16 remaining after a pair of free throws by Davante Wiltshire. The Dragons, the third seed from the West Division, scored the next nine points, with Benedict missing five shots, three of them 3-pointers, over a span of 2:50. Wiltshire snapped the scoring drought with a layup with 26 seconds left to make it 80-78. Lane closed out the game by going perfect on its final six free throws. Darius Williams sank three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with one second left to close the score.

Benedict ends Coach Artis Maddox's first season with a 4-23 record. Lane, 15-10, advances in the tournament to face Albany State on Thursday at 4:15 p.m.

"It's been a roller coaster to say the least," Maddox said. "But I've got a great group of guys. They came in and bought in to what I was selling. We just fell a little short at the end. If you look at the stat sheet it's the same thing – turnovers and rebounds. That's what's hurt us all season and that's what hurt us this game.

"I'm proud of the guys. They have nothing to be ashamed of," Maddox said.

Benedict committed 17 turnovers in the contest, compared to 10 for Lane. Lane scored 23 points off turnovers, while the Tigers scored nine points off turnovers. The Dragons only outrebounded the Tigers by one, 38-37, but had a large advantage in second-chance points. Lane had 16 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second-chance points. Benedict had 13 offensive rebounds and scored nine second-chance points.

One key turning point came with 4:44 left in the game. Lew Johnson went to the line for the Dragons and made his first attempt, but missed his second. The Dragons grabbed the offensive rebound, and Perry picked up his fifth foul. Johnson then made two more free throws to cut the lead to 72-70 with 4:42 left in the game. Ricky Peterson, who replaced Perry in the lineup, picked up his fifth foul a short while later with 3:51 left in the game and the Tigers still holding a 74-70 lead.

"We're already small as it is," Wiltshire said. "With him (Perry) being out, it was a struggle for us to get the rebounds, no matter how badly we boxed out. But the effort was there. I just wish we would have got that last rebound to seal the game."

DeShawn Graham led the Tigers with 17 points, while Wiltshire added 15 points in his final game as a Benedict Tiger. Romello Jones scored 12 points, while Perry had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Darius Williams and Kelvin Omojola came off the bench to score 10 points each.

Lane was led by Kendarius Ash, the three-time SIAC Defensive Player of the Year, who scored 22 points to go along with his strong defensive play of 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and four steals. Daniel Hill added 21 points, going 17-of-20 from the free-throw line.

Benedict had as much as a 12-point lead in the first half, with Perry scoring a layup to make it 34-22 with 4:27 remaining in the half. Lane cut the lead to 38-31 at the break. A 3-pointer by Graham gave Benedict its largest lead in the second half, 60-51 with 12:04 left in the contest.