Atlanta, GA- Morehouse Maroon Tigers defeated the Benedict Tigers 86 to 79. The game was a tightly contested battle from start to finish, with both teams having their respective win streaks coming into the matchup.
 
Morehouse led early 12-3 in the first four minutes of the first half of the game; then Benedict went on a run of their own behind guard Marshaun West's hot shooting with three threes in the first half. After a near scuffle which led to a stoppage in play near the five-minute mark of the game, Benedict went on a 14-0 run. After a timeout by Morehouse, the Maroon Tigers went on a 10-0 run themselves with guards Billy Thomas and Ibn Williams adding a couple of threes.

"Had to settle them down there was a slight altercation, we got a little unfocused, so I just had to bring the team back to focus and let them know it's all about basketball," Morehouse Head Coach Douglas Whittler said. "Don't get caught up in non-basketball plays, and when we did that, we got back to playing our style of basketball, and we cut into the lead."

The Maroon Tigers would trail Benedict 47-45 to end the first half. The second half was a back-and-forth affair as there were several lead changes throughout the game. However, ultimately the game came down to who wanted it more as defense and free throws became the narrative.

The Maroon Tigers capitalized, shooting 17 of 21 from the charity stripe in the second half while the Benedict Tigers hit 11 of 21. 
 
"Defense, Defense, Defense, allowing them only to get one shot making sure that we box out and rebound," coach Whittler said. "If we keep teams to one shot, I like our chances."

This was the emphasis of the Maroon Tigers going into the second half, and they executed. Guard Noah Morgan of the Maroon Tigers led all scorers with 22 points, three assists and one block. Benedict's leading scorer was Tajh Green with 20 points, one block and a SportsCenter top 10 worthy dunk in the first half.

At seven, the Maroon Tigers continued their winning streak and ended the Benedict Tigers streak at 10. On the streak, Coach Whittler had this to say.
" Honestly, the team, we're starting to gel, everybody's trusting each other we're playing hard and having really good practices since our last loss, Whittler said. "We're just a team that wants to win; guys have made the decision that they're going to compete, they decided to do what's asked of them and that's transitioning into wins for us."
 
The Maroon Tigers play Allen University on Monday, the tip-off to be determined. Also, this game is closed to spectators.