JACKSON, Tenn.- The Hawks started the 2021-2022 season at the GSC/SIAC Crossover Tournament hosted by Union University with a win against Lane College on Friday night. The Hawks beat the Dragons 93-89 in overtime. On Saturday, the Hawks were unable to contain Tuskegee's offense and lost 64-72.

Lane outscored Shorter in the first half, 37-33 but then the Hawks made a comeback in the second half outscoring the Dragons 46-42. In overtime, the Hawks pulled away scoring 14 points to the Dragons 10.  The Hawks had 24 points off of turnovers, 19 fast break points and 58 points off the bench. Shorter also led the Dragons in field goal percentage with 48.4 percent. Ricky Knight Jr. led the team with 21 points followed by Raphael Houssou with 19. Jaden Dunham pulled down eight rebounds followed by Jay Shropshire who had seven. Jaden Dunham led the team with eight assists and two blocks. Jay Shropshire accounted for two of the Hawks eight steals in this game.

Tuskegee outscored the Hawks 37-36 in the first half and 35-28 in the second half. Shorter had 30 points in the paint, 10 fast break points and 18 bench points. The Hawks led the Golden Tigers in field goal percentage (48.8 to 39.0) and in 3-point percentage (40.0 to 27.8). Ralph Barnett led the Hawks with 16 points followed by Ricky Knight Jr. with 13 points.  Mark Wilcox Jr. pulled down six rebounds while Ralph Barnett and Jaden Dunham each pulled down five rebounds.  Jaden Dunham also led the team with six assists.

The Hawks will start their five game road trip against Fort Valley State on Tuesday, November 16^th at 7:30 PM. trip