SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Benedict College men's basketball team took another step towards a SIAC title on Tuesday, as Gob Gabriel hit a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to lift the Tigers to an 82-81 victory over LeMoyne-Owen in the 2023 TIAA SIAC Basketball Championship Tournament presented by Cricket held on the campus of Savannah State University.
 
"It doesn't even seem real," said Benedict head men's basketball coach Artis Maddox. "But it's that time of year. It's win or go home and you've got to find a way to win."
 
The Magicians, the third seed from the West Division, hit the first of two free throws with nine seconds left in the game. Gabriel rebounded the missed shot and passed to Brandon Smith. Smith then passed the ball back to Gabriel streaking down the left sideline. Gabriel stopped at the 3-point line and lofted the game-winning shot.
 
"I knew if I had the ball in my hands, I would let if fly," said Gabriel, who finished with 10 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers. "Once Brandon got the ball back to me, I knew I was going to get the shot off. It was a great feeling. Emotions were rushing. My teammates were running up to me. It was a lot of fun, for sure."
 
Benedict now advances to face Savannah State, the second seed from the East Division, on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on the Savannah State Tigers' home court, where they lost just once this season. Savannah State defeated Benedict 58-54 in Savannah on Jan. 25. Three days later, Benedict defeated Savannah State 69-64 in Columbia.
 
"At this time of year, everybody is going to be good," Maddox said. "We just need to come in ready to play and be dialed in, limit our mistakes and take good shots on offense."
 
Tuesday's game was close throughout. The Magicians took an early lead, but the Tigers got their running game going and capitalized on some fast-break dunks to take a 35-28 lead. Gabriel hit a jumper to close out the first half and gave Benedict a 39-32 lead at the break.
 
Marshaun West hit a jumper to open the second half to give Benedict it's largest lead of the game, 41-32. The Magicians put together a run and took a 46-45 lead after a three-point play with 16:32 remaining and the game stayed tight the rest of the way.
 
The Magicians hit a 3-pointer to take a 72-68 lead with 3:25 left. A pair of free throws a short time later gave LeMoyne-Owen its largest lead of the game, 74-68 with 2:49 remaining.
 
Asanti Price hit a 3-pointer and Dontavius King followed with a layup to cut the lead to 74-73 with 1:14 left to play. The two teams traded 3-pointers, with Brandon Smith connecting with 14 seconds left to play to make it 80-79. The Magicians hit the free throw with nine seconds left, setting up Gabriel's game-winning shot.
 
Malachi McCoy led the Tigers with a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Price had 11 points and Gabriel scored 10 points.