February 23, 2013 – ATLANTA – Two weeks ago, the Clark Atlanta Panthers gave the Maroon Tigers a scare, in a game decided on the final shot. There was no such drama today, as Morehouse beat their cross-campus rival 73-66.
It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but the game was not as close as the score suggests. Leading comfortably from wire-to-wire, the Tigers never seemed seriously threatened by the struggling Panthers who came in at 4-21.
Playing before more than 3,100 fans – the largest crowd of the season – Morehouse led 39-32 at halftime. The Tigers expanded the lead to 17 points midway through the second half, before cruising to the finish line.
Darrius Williams led all scorers with 22 points and tied for game-high rebounds (10) with CAU's Glyndelle Poole. Williams, the SIAC's leading scorer and candidate for the Player of the Year award, hit 7 of 13 from the field and 8 of 12 from the line.
Senior guard Shawn Allen posted double-digit scoring day #19 of the season, with 14 points. He added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Despite playing with early foul trouble, team captain Andrae Nelson made a major contribution, with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Nelson was one of five Morehouse seniors honored before the game, for playing in their final regular season game at Forbes Arena. All seniors started the game.
The other seniors: Michael Zeigler scored eight points, Jonathan Tassin added three points and Chukwudi Ndudikwa grabbed a rebound, handed out an assists and made two steals, in their final home games.
Malcolm Frank and Cornez Nesbitt made their presence felt on both ends of the floor. Frank collected five points, four rebounds three steals and two assists. Nesbitt had six points, two rebounds and two blocked shots.
Three Panthers posted double figures – Kevin James scored 21 points, James Arnold had 13 points and Jerrell Joye added 11.
The Tigers ended the regular season with a three-game winning streak and valuable momentum going into next week's SIAC tournament, which will be played at Forbes Arena.
Morehouse the number two team in the SIAC's East Division will draw a bye in the first round and will not play until Wednesday or Thursday.
The tournament bracket will be posted tomorrow at www.thesiac.com.
