TUSKEGEE, Ala. – Tuskegee opened up a 19-point lead in the first half and went on to take an 82-69 victory over Benedict College in the opening round of the 2025 SIAC Men's Basketball Championship presented by Cricket on Saturday.
 
Tuskegee scored the first five points of the game and never trailed. The Tigers cut the lead to 18-16 with 8:22 left in the first half before Tuskegee went on a 15-3 run to push the lead to 33-19. Tuskegee had a 42-23 lead with two minutes left in the half.
 
Tuskegee took its largest lead, 62-37 with 14:55 left in the game. Tuskegee had an 82-59 lead with 2:37 remaining, but Benedict closed out the game with the final 10 points.
 
Cadarius Baggett scored a season-high 28 points to lead Benedict. Jalen Blunt had a season-high 15 points, while Donte Whymns added 10 points.
 
Tuskegee, the second seed in the SIAC West, improves to 14-13 and advances to face Albany State, the third seed from the East, at 8 p.m. on Thursday in Atlanta.
 
Benedict finishes the season at 6-22.