COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers built a 14-point second-half lead and then held off a late Central State rally to defeat the Marauders 70-67 in a SIAC men's  basketball contest on Thursday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
 
A jumper by Donte Whymns gave the Tigers a 51-37 lead with 11:02 left in the game. A three-point play by Cehki Hill gave Benedict a 59-48 lead with 4:14 remaining. The Marauders used a three-point play, a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 59-56 with 2:50 remaining. Whymns scored a layup to snap the Central State run, and Jordan Butler added a layup.
 
Central State hit a pair of 3-pointers around a Whymns layup to trim the lead to 65-62 with 49 seconds left. Caleb Hymon scored on a layup and Cadarius Baggett sank two free throws with 17 seconds remaining. Central State scored the next five points to get within 69-67 with just six seconds remaining. Tariq Shepherd sealed the game with a free throw with five seconds remaining.
 
Shepherd led the Tigers with 15 points, while Hymon and Whymns added 14 points each. Benedict improves to 3-9 overall and 3-3 in the SIAC. Central State falls to 5-10 overall and 2-5 in the SIAC.
 
Benedict returns to action in the HRC Arena on Saturday with a 3 p.m. contest against Kentucky State.