A pair of free throws by Phillip Brown with 38 seconds left capped a 13-0 run which lifted Claflin University to a 68-57 road win over Benedict College on Jan. 7.

Should the Panthers (ranked second in the NCAA Division II South Regional and 16th in the NABC Division II polls) run the table by winning their last four games, those points could also prove vital in giving them top seed in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

As Claflin (19-2, 18-2) closed out a 64-57 road victory over Tuskegee University Tuesday, it also moved back into a first-place tie with Benedict College. Miles College, which handed the Panthers their first SIAC loss this season, handed the Tigers (ranked first in the NCAA Division II South Regional and 12th in the NABC Division II polls) its second conference loss in an 83-81 home victory.

After Benedict (18-3, 16-2) forced overtime with a 3-point play by Charles Gibbs, Larry Swain won the game for the Golden Bears with two free throws with four seconds left. The loss snapped the Tigers’ 12-game winning streak and left them tied in the loss column with Claflin.

Should the Panthers and Benedict each win their remaining games, a tiebreaker would determine the top seed for the tournament, which starts March 4. Since both teams split their regular-season series and each lost to Miles College, the third tiebreaker, margin of victory in the two meetings, would favor the Panthers. Benedict defeated Claflin by 10 points (55-45) on Jan. 28, one point less than the Panthers’ margin of victory.

Claflin will close out the regular season Feb. 25 against Miles College at the Jonas T. Kennedy Center. Before then, the Panthers will travel to Paine College this Saturday and Stillman College on Monday and play host to Albany State Feb. 21. Benedict has six games remaining at Tuskegee (Thursday) and Stillman (Saturday), at home against Albany State (Tuesday) and Fort Valley State (Feb. 19), at Paine College (Feb. 21) and at home against Morehouse (Feb. 23).

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