January 23, 2011 – ATLANTA – Morehouse let a 10-point halftime lead slip away, but bounced back to win, in overtime, 74-69, over the LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians.
This game was originally scheduled for January 10, but cancelled because of the Atlanta snowstorm.
The win was the third in four games this week and pushed Morehouse's record to 4-7 (4-5 SIAC).
Morehouse led by as many as 13 points late in the first half and settled for a 33-23 lead at the break. The second half was another story, as the Magicians made the Morehouse lead vanish, out-scoring the Maroon Tigers 36-26, to knot the score at 59, at the end of regulation.
Poor free-throw shooting almost derailed the Morehouse victory. The Maroon Tigers missed 17-of-35 shots from the charity stripe, for a season-low 51.4 percent. The Magicians didn't fare much better, missing 10-of-26 free throws.
For the second straight game,
Roderick Williams didn't miss a shot from the field and led all players in points and rebounds. In last night's loss to Tuskegee, Williams hit 8-of-8 shots; today he hit 10-of-10. The team leading scorer and rebounder poured in 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, for his second double-double of the season.
After a lackluster first half of the season,
Jelani Figures has come on strong in the scoring department, pushing his average up to 11.3 ppg. Figures hit only 4-of-15 against the Magicians and finished with 15 points. Most of his damage came from the free-throw line, where he connected on 7-of-11.
Figures sank two big free throws with 30 seconds left in regulation, to tie the game and hit 5-of-6 free throws, in the last 32 seconds of overtime, to provide the Morehouse margin of victory.
#Shawn Allen# continued to shine since his return, with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Four Magicians scored in double figures. Calvin Stoudemire led the way with 17 points and Chris Brown added 16 points. After losing at Benedict, Saturday, the Magicians return to Memphis with a 3-14 (3-11 SIAC) record.
In what is normally the biggest game of the season, Morehouse will play Clark Atlanta, Thursday, at 7:30 p.m. The game will be played in Forbes Arena and is a home game for the Panthers. Morehouse students and fans will be required to pay an admission.
