February 10, 2009 – FORT VALLEY, GA – In almost a carbon copy of the Morehouse win at Forbes last week, the Maroon Tigers dominated the Fort Valley State Wildcats in the early stages then held on for dear life in the end, for an 84-82 win.

In last Tuesday’s game, Morehouse surged early and weathered a late rally, to pull out an 88-84 win. That victory snapped a four-game losing streak to Fort Valley over the last two years.

Down in the Valley, the Maroon Tigers hit shots from all over the floor, made deft passes inside and forced multiple turnovers, to build a 20-point first-half lead. A furious Wildcats charge late in the period, punctuated by a three-pointer at the buzzer, closed the gap to 10 points at halftime.

It was a similar story in the second half. Morehouse extended the lead to 17 points, only to allow the Wildcats back into the game, though never relinquishing the lead. Finally, clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, including four straight by Kenney Boyd in the final minute, shut the door on the Fort Valley comeback.

The Maroon Tigers hit 15-of-15 free throws in the first half and 34-of-44,
overall, for the second best percentage (.773) this season.

Larry Diamond’s 19 points led five Maroon Tigers who scored in double figures. The senior guard from Lithonia hit 4-of-8 from the field and 10-of-12 free throws. His eight rebounds tied teammate Kenney Boyd for game-high honors.

Boyd, who sat out much of the second half with foul trouble, scored 16 points and dished out a team-high five assists, to go with three steals.

Forward Roderick Williams hit all five of his shots from the field, for 11 points, and hauled down five rebounds.

The Wildcats comeback was fueled in part by 29 Morehouse turnovers, which matched the season high, achieved in a 31-point loss to Lemoyne-Owen.

In his sharpest shooting display of the season, guard Jelani Figures hit 3-of-4 shots from the field and 6-of-6 free throws for 12 points.

J.P. Felder contributed 10 points and eight rebounds, and Travis Floyd scored all of his points on 8-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line.

The Maroon Tigers improved to 6-14 (4-13 SIAC).

Darrell Aiken scored a game-high 20 points for the Wildcats who fell to 9-13 (9-10 SIAC).

Morehouse hits the road again Thursday, to play the Golden Rams in Albany State.

The next home game is Saturday at 2 p.m. against Clark Atlanta.