January 23, 2007 – ATLANTA – James Beasley recorded his second double-double of the season, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 76-71 loss to the Paine College Lions who have beaten Morehouse five straight times.

The last Morehouse win against Paine was a 74-72 overtime victory on January 10, 2005. In their last meeting, in Augusta, on January 8, Paine won 72-60.

In this game, Morehouse broke out to a 9-0 lead, but turnovers and poor shooting let the Lions back into the game and the visitors took a slim 33-32 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Lions built a 10-point lead halfway through, but the Tigers stormed back and closed the lead to one point with less than four minutes to play, only to let the game slip away at the end.

Beasley had game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (10) and hit 9-of-10 free throws. However, the 7’-0” center from Augusta hit only 6-of-19 shots from the field.

Will Belton recorded 14 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Morehouse got solid contributions from Marlon Ferguson, who tallied eight points, seven rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal; and Jason Reese, who tallied five points, eight rebounds, two assists a block and a steal.

But the brightest light on the Morehouse side was the play of Lawrence Diamond, who played with passion and purpose and gave the Maroon Tigers a boost of energy that almost carried them through. The junior transfer from Augusta, GA recorded his season highs in points (8) and rebounds (4), in 19 minutes of play.

Forward Jason Patterson missed his second straight game, because of an elbow injury.

Paine’s Chris Jackson hit 9-of-12 shots from the field for a team-high 20 points and topped three other Lions who scored in double figures. Paine, the SIAC’s second-placed team, improved to 9-5 (8-3 SIAC).

Morehouse dropped to 4-9 (4-7 SIAC) and will face the SIAC champion Stillman College Tigers on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Forbes Arena. In their last meeting in Tuscaloosa, Morehouse lost 64-52.