JACKSON, Tenn. – Five players scored in double figures, as the Shorter Hawks men's basketball team won its season opener this afternoon, defeating the LeMoyne-Owen Magicians, 83-69.
For much of the first half the game remained close as the Hawks were unable to pull away from the Magicians.
Alijah Bennett's 3-pointer with 12:36 to go in the first period gave SU an eight-point advantage, but LeMoyne-Owen battled back, cutting the Shorter lead to one with 8:22 left in the half.
Warren Helligar put the Hawks up seven with a pair of free throws and the team increased its lead by going on a 15-7 run to end the half, taking a 48-33 lead into the locker room.
Cole Birchfield hit three 3's over the course of the run, while
Phil Taylor added four points off free throws. Two of Birchfield's 3-pointers came with less than a minute remaining.
In the final half, 3's by Taylor,
Mike Wickliff, and
Amonte Potter helped Shorter take a 25-point just under six minutes into the second period. After a Taylor jumper,
Eric Ross' dunk, which followed a Magicians basket gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game, 68-41.
LeMoyne went on a run of its own, outscoring Shorter 27-8 over 10:55 of action. The Magicians managed to cut Shorter's advantage to nine, 76-67, with 2:26 remaining in the contest, but a Bennett jumper pushed the lead back to double-digits at the two-minute mark.
Late free throws by Wickliff and Bennett ensured that the lead did not fall below 10 points and Shorter took the victory, 83-69.
Five Hawks scored in double figures, led by Taylor with 19. Bennett added 13, Ross and Birchfield each had 12 points and Potter scored 11. Ross had a team high 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double. Justin Street led LeMoyne-Owen with 25 points on 10 of 25 shooting.
Shorter shot 44.1%, while the Magicians made 36% of their shots. The Hawks held a 49-36 rebounding advantage.
Shorter will be back in action tomorrow afternoon against Spring Hill College in its final game of the SIAC-GSC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. from Jackson, Tennessee.
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