MORROW, Ga. – Tuskegee went on an 18-0 run in the second half to take the lead and held on for a 70-53 victory over the Benedict Tigers men's basketball team in the quarterfinals of the 2026 SIAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship presented by Toyota on Wednesday afternoon at The Arena at Southlake.
 
The Tigers had a 46-39 lead after a three-point play by Cole White with 11:43 remaining in the game. Benedict then went cold, going scoreless for more than five minutes while the Golden Tigers built a 57-46 lead with 6:28 left to play. Benedict went 0-for-6 from the floor and had three turnovers during that critical span.
 
Jordan Brewer hit a pair of free throws with 6:07 on the clock to cut the lead to 57-48. Tuskegee scored the next three points, and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
Caleb Hymon led the Tigers with 11 points, while Malachi Chavis added 10 points off the bench.
 
After shooting 48 percent (12-of-25) in the first half, the Tigers cooled off to 30.8 percent (8-of-26) in the second half. Tuskegee shot 40 percent (10-of-25) in the first half, but shot 55 percent (11-of-20) in the second half for 46.7 percent for the game. That was the third-highest shooting performance by a Benedict opponent this season. The Tigers entered the game as the nation's second-best team in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.9 percent shooting.
 
Tuskegee (21-6), the No. 1 seed from the SIAC West Division, advances to the semifinals and will face the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup between Clark Atlanta and LeMoyne-Owen at 5 p.m. on Friday.
 
Benedict wraps up the season at 12-14 in Dannton Jackson's first season as head coach.