SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Benedict College Tigers built as much as a 13-point lead in the first half and then held off a late rally by Central State to take a 79-67 victory in the first round of the 2023 TIAA SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket, held at Savannah State University.
 
Benedict, the sixth seed in the East Division, advances to face LeMoyne-Owen, the third seed in the West Division, at noon on Tuesday. Central State, the seventh seed in the West Division, ends its season at 5-23.
 
The Tigers pulled away from a 17-16 game midway through the first half to build a 35-22 lead with 1:44 left in the half after a fast-break dunk by Malachi McCoy. Benedict had a 38-28 lead at the half.
 
The Marauders cut the lead to 45-40 with 14:49 left in the game. The Tigers stormed back and Brandon Smith gave Benedict a 65-52 lead on a 3-pointer with 7:23 remaining. The Marauders went on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to 68-64 with 3:33 left in the game. Asanti Price answered with a jumper, but Central State followed with a 3-pointer to make it 70-67 with 2:22 remaining. Benedict scored the final nine points of the game, getting a big 3-pointer by Dontavius King to start the run.
 
King led Benedict, now 19-9 overall, with 15 points. Tim Moore added 11 points and Brandon Smith chipped in 10 points.