January 2, 2012 –ATLANTA – Andrae Nelson had another monster game, scoring 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, but it was 22 second-half points by Daniyal Faquir that broke open a see-saw game and gave the Maroon Tigers a 90-74 win over the Paine College Lions.
Faquir's hot shooting, mostly from beyond the arc, fueled a Morehouse rally that put the game away late. Hitting jumpers from all over the court, Faquir score 21 consecutive points and single-handedly outscored the Lions 21-10 over a four-minute stretch. He finished with 24 points and three assists.
Shawn Allen was Morehouse's third big contributor, pouring in 24 points and pulling down six rebounds. He also chipped in three assists and two steals. Allen went 6-of-11 from the field and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, where the Tigers continue to struggle.
Morehouse shot only 23-of-36 from the charity stripe, compared to Paine's 19-of-23.
The Maroon Tigers won the rebounding battle 39-28 and forced more turnovers (15) than they committed.
Nelson led all scorers and rebounders. His four blocked shots led that category, as well. Nelson went 10-of-14 from the field and is the third best shooter in the SIAC. He and Allen share the team lead, averaging 16.8 points per game, the third-best average in the conference.
Playing a makeshift starting lineup, forced by injury and academic ineligibility, Coach Grady Brewer got good efforts from Cornez Nesbitt and Raphael Walker.
Making only his second start, Nesbitt played a solid 29 minutes and contributed five points, six rebounds and invaulable defensive presence. Walker, in his first start, played 28 minutes and chipped in five points, two rebounds and two steals.
With seven boards, Adam Callaway had the team's second-best rebounding number, to go with four points, two assists and two steals.
Kedric Taylor led the Lions with 21 points and five rebounds. Tony Baker had 17 points and Mario Jordan, last week's SIAC Player of the Week, was held to 10 points.
Morehouse improved to 2-4 (2-2 SIAC); Paine, the SIAC's #1 team, fell to 6-2 (5-1 SIAC).
The Maroon Tigers travel to Birmingham, to face Miles, Saturday, then Memphis, to play LeMoyne-Owen, Monday, before returning home, to play the Kentucky State Thorobreds, Thursday (1/12), at 7:30 p.m.
