COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Morehouse Maroon Tigers used a 15-0 run at the end of the first half to rally from an 11-point deficit, and Morehouse went on to beat the Benedict College Tigers 88-76 on Saturday afternoon in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

Benedict lost at home for the first time in two years, snapping a 16-game home-court winning streak. The Tigers fall to 19-6 overall and 14-3 in the SIAC. Morehouse swept the season series against Benedict and moved into first place in the SIAC East Division with an 18-6 overall record and 13-2 in the SIAC.

Brandon Smith scored 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers, both season highs, to lead Benedict. Timothy Bing Jr. added 13 points, while Brandon Beidleman chipped in 12 points.

Benedict got off to a hot start, hitting four early 3-pointers to jump out to an 18-5 lead. A 3-pointer by Beidleman gave the Tigers a 30-15 lead with 6:11 left in the half. Tajh Green hit a 3-pointer for a 37-26 lead with 3:06 left. Morehouse then scored the next 15 points to take their first lead of the game, 41-37. NyQuan McCombs made a three-point play at the buzzer to make the score 41-40 at the half.

Morehouse then used a 13-0 run early in the second half to take a 54-42 lead. A 3-pointer by Bing cut the lead to 54-48, but that was as close as the Tigers would get. Morehouse pushed the lead back to 13 points, 63-50 with 9:36 remaining, and kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

After connecting on 7-of-10 3-pointers in the first half, Benedict cooled off in the second half, making just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc. Benedict shot 33 percent in the second half.

The Tigers will wrap up the regular season with their final home game on Tuesday against rival Allen University. Benedict will honor three seniors – Green, Bing and McCombs.