SAVANNAH, Ga. – Tuskegee's season came to an end Friday afternoon as Benedict College eliminated the Golden Tigers in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship presented by Cricket with a 96-75 victory inside Tiger Arena.
Tuskegee, the No. 2 seed in the West, finished the season 13-15 overall, while Benedict, the No. 3 seed in the East, improved to 23-6.
Kevin Sesberry's 3-pointer at the 14:31 mark tied the game at 13-all. However, over the next eight minutes, the Tigers outscored the Golden Tigers 23-6, capped by a dunk by Malachi McCoy, to take a commanding 36-19 advantage and Tuskegee never recovered.
A Sesberry free throw a minute into the second half pulled the Golden Tigers within 49-35, but they couldn't get any closer. Benedict's lead swelled to as many as 26 points on two different occasions before the Tigers settled for the 21-point win.
Martez Jones led Tuskegee with 22 points and nine rebounds. He was 6-of-8 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws to go along with one steal and one block.
Kusamae Draper finished with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He grabbed four rebounds and had three assists.
Sesberry had 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and was 4-of-6 from the foul line. He had two rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block.
The Golden Tigers shot 49 percent (25-of-51) from the field, including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from 3-point range, and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the charity stripe.
Tim Moore led six Savannah State players in double figures with 19 points. McCoy finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Brandon Beidleman and Gob Gabriel had 12 apiece. Brandon Smith and Asanti Price finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Tigers shot 58.9 percent (33-of-56) from the field, including 44 percent (11-of-25) from deep, and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the foul line.
How to Follow the Golden Tigers: For complete information on Tuskegee Golden Tigers Men's Basketball, visit
GoldenTigerSports.com and follow the team's social media channels on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.