The Claflin University Panthers (12-1) overcame a three-point halftime deficit Saturday to take a 73-56 win over the Tigers of Stillman College.

Down 23-26 at the break, the Panthers tied the game for the third time, 29-29, with 16:47 left to play. At that point the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to lead 35-29 with 15:03 left. But the visitors would not die and tied the contest at 35-35 at the 14:07 mark.

After trading three-point baskets, the Panthers forged ahead 47-40, which drew a timeout from Tiger Head Coach Michael Grant with 10:39 left in the game. That did not seem to help as Claflin built an 11-point lead, 55-44, with 7:40 to go. After another Tiger timeout the Panthers kept the defensive pressure on, forcing numerous Tiger turnovers into easy layups to build their largest lead to 17 points, 68-51, with 2:38 left. Claflin coasted the rest of the way, as Coach Woodard cleared his bench at the 1:00 mark. The bench would clean up the rest of the time to preserve the 73-56 victory.

The Panthers scored the first 9 points of the game before the Tigers could score their first field goal, for a 9-4 Panther lead. The Tigers got hot from the field and went on a 9-4 run to tie the contest at 13-13 with 11 minutes left before the break. By the 9:58 mark the Tigers roared back and finally took their first lead of the afternoon 20-18. But a three-pointer by Eric Salley erased that lead. The Tigers answered with a 6-3 run to go into the locker room up 26-23.

Ronald Hofler led the Tigers with 16 points, followed by Terry Rice, Omari Murray and Marquel Jones, all with 10 points.

The Panthers were led by Eric Salley with a game-high 22 points. Ernest Sinkfield and David Cobb tallied 13 points. While Phillip Brown finished with 12 points.

For the game Claflin shot a blistering 46% from the field, after shooting just 34% in the first half. Stillman shot 40% from the field and committed 21 turnovers to the Panthers’ 14.

Claflin travels to Fort Valley State Jan. 21, scheduled for a 5:30 start.

Pantherettes pick up SIAC win, 66-58

Two former Pantherettes met on the hardwood as coaches Saturday afternoon at the Jonas T. Kennedy Center on the Claflin University campus.

Claflin Coach Miriam Samuels and Stillman Coach Kimberly Pooler both played under the late Nelson Brownlee during the 1990s.

It was Samuels getting the best of her former teammate as the Pantherettes won the hard-fought SIAC contest 66-58.

The victory pushed the Pantherettes’ conference record above the .500 mark at 7-6 and 8-6 overall.

As for Stillman, the Lady Tigers dropped to 1-4 in league play and 1-6 overall.

Jayshaun Bailey led the Pantherettes in scoring with a team-high 17 points, 11 coming in the second half. Also scoring in double figures for the Pantherettes were Ashley Sorrell-Gibson with 11 second-half points and Natalie Davis with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Jasmon Hazley was the top scorer for the Lady Tigers with 17 points. followed by Tiffany McGhee with 13 points and Siera Dority with 10.

After watching Stillman break a 28-28 tie early in the second half and increase its lead to five points, Samuels made a defensive adjustment. The move paid off as the Pantherettes forced the Lady Tigers into five straight turnovers that sparked a 13-2 Claflin run.

The Pantherettes led 48-42 with 9:05 left, thanks to Bailey and Julia Alexander. The duo combined for 11 of the Pantherettes’ 13 points during the run. Bailey tallied six points, while Alexander chipped in with five that included a three-point basket.

Stillman did manage to pull within 50-47 by scoring five of the next seven points. The Lady Tigers had a golden opportunity to move even closer but Tegra Hillman missed two free throws at the 7:02 mark.

The missed free throws proved to be costly for the Lady Tigers as the Pantherettes caught fire offensively. When the dust cleared, Pooler found her team down by 10 points at 59-49 and time running out.

Sorrell-Gibson played a big role in helping the Pantherettes gain some breathing room, drilling a three-pointer along with a pair of free throws.

Seconds later, Claflin took its biggest lead of the game at 63-49 with 1:26 left on two free throws from Bailey.

The contest was pretty much close the entire first half with four lead changes.

Every time the Pantherettes would increase their lead, the Lady Tigers would rally to pull within a bucket. The last rally came with the Pantherettes leading 26-18 with just under five minutes left in the opening half. The Lady Tigers put together an 8-2 run, cutting the Pantherettes’ lead to 28-26 at intermission.

For the game, Claflin shot 44 percent from the floor to 40 for Stillman. The Pantherettes held a slim advantage on the board with 33 rebounds to 31 for the Lady Tigers. Both teams were dead even in the turnover department with 15 each.

 

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