February 25, 2007 -- ATLANTA -- Not even a lineup filled with seniors could drive Morehouse to victory, as the Maroon Tigers fell to the conference-leading Benedict Tigers, 75-59.
To commemorate their last game at Forbes Arena, coach Grady Brewer inserted seniors Kwame Agbottah, Joseph Hines and Stephon Sparrow into the starting lineup with regular senior starters Jason Reese and Brenden Stoner.
Despite the upper-class lineup, Morehouse failed to put the brakes on the visiting Tigers who improved to 22-4 (19-2 SIAC) and head into next week’s SIAC tournament as the number one seed.
Morehouse fell to 12-14 (9-12 SIAC) and finished below .500 for the second-straight year. Last season’s team went 9-16 and lost in the first round of the tournament.
Marlon Ferguson, the only other senior, was sidelined with a leg injury that has kept him out of all but five games this season.
Jason Reese was the only senior to make any impact on the game. One of three Maroon Tigers in double figures, the 6’-3” forward from Greenville, GA hit 9-of-16 shots for 19 points and pulled down four rebounds.
Kenney Boyd recorded his fourteenth double-double of the season, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The 6’-8” center sank 8-of-11 shots and solidified his position as the second-most accurate shooter in the SIAC.
Guard Paul Williams came off the bench for his most productive scoring as a Maroon Tiger. The 5’-9” junior from Atlanta chipped in a career-high 13 points, on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Williams also grabbed three rebounds and handed out three assists.
Benedict, the SIAC’s leading rebounding team, got 10 rebounds from Woody Martinez, the conference’s leading rebounder, who also scored 18 points. His teammate Charles Gibbs led all scorers with 20 points.
In the preseason coaches’ poll Morehouse was projected to finish fourth. The Maroon Tigers are currently ninth and should hold that spot entering the tournament.
The SIAC tournament runs March 5-9, at Fair Park Arena, in Birmingham, AL. For information on brackets, game times and up-to-the-minute scores, visit www.siacbasketballtournament.com.
