ROCK HILL, S.C. – Joseph Staton scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead a second-half charge and help lead the Benedict College Tigers to a 90-71 victory over LeMoyne-Owen College in the opening round of the 2020 SIAC Basketball Tournament at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center on Monday.

The fifth-seeded Tigers, now 14-15 overall, advance to take on top-seed Albany State in the tournament quarterfinals at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday. LeMoyne-Owen, the fourth seed, ends its season at 12-14.

"It was a game of runs. I told them this team would not let up. We were up early, and they fought back and took the lead at the half. We took the lead early in the second half and they came right back, and then our guys made that late push to close the game, and I'm very proud of them," said Benedict head coach Artis Maddox.

Tyrese Mapp added 19 points, 11 coming in the second half, for the Tigers. Tajh Green had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Malachi McCoy contributed 14 points with nine rebounds. Staton also dished out a season-high nine assists to go along with his team-high 20 points.

Benedict jumped out to a quick 16-8 lead, but the Magicians scored the next eight points to tie the contest with 7:36 left in the first half. The game stayed close the rest of the way, with LeMoyne-Owen pulling ahead 32-31 at the halftime break.

The Tigers used a 13-0 run early in the second half to take a 50-36 lead with 14:46 remaining in the game. NyQuan McCombs capped off the run with a 3-pointer.

Staton drilled a 3-pointer with 13:47 left in the contest to put the Tigers ahead 56-40. The Magicians would go on another run to cut the gap to 62-60 with 8:58 left in the game. McCombs added a 3-pointer, then Anthony Gomes hit a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to give Benedict a 71-62 lead with 5:35 left on the clock. Staton added another 3-pointer with 4:24 to play to give the Tigers a 76-65 lead, and Benedict kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way, building the lead to as much as 19 points. LeMoyne-Owen attempted eight shots, all 3-pointers, in the final four minutes of the game and made just two.

Devin Booker led the Magicians with 27 points, while his brother, Jordan Booker, added 21 points.

Benedict shot 47.1 percent from the floor, including better than 51 percent in the second half, while holding LeMoyne-Owen to 38.6 percent shooting. The Tigers had a dominating 44-33 advantage in rebounding.

Benedict advances to face Albany State, 15-13 overall, in the tournament quarterfinals. Benedict lost to the Golden Rams 87-80 in Columbia on Jan. 20, but knocked off Albany State 65-58 on Feb. 22 in Albany, Ga., behind a 26-point, 13-rebound performance by Green.