Senior forward Cyrus Huggard-Noel scored seven of Edward Waters’ 13 points in overtime as the Tigers downed Central State 71-63 in an opening-round game of the SIAC men’s basketball tournament on Feb. 28 at Beacom/Lewis Gym in Wilburforce, Ohio.
The Tigers (15-14), the fifth-seeded team in the SIAC East, advanced to a second-round game at 8 p.m. on March 4 against No. 1 seed Morehouse, at the Arena at Southlake in Morrow, Ga. EWU lost a regular-season game at Morehouse, 58-53, on Jan. 5.
EWU rallied from a 56-48 deficit with 2:46 left to lead 57-56 with 1:01 left on a layup by freshman guard Jayvon Johnson. Noel-Huggard made one of two foul shots for a 58-57 lead with 12 seconds left but Micah Bay of Central was fouled, missed the first shot and then tied the game by making the second.
But Huggard-Noel scored seven of his team’s first nine points in overtime to put the game away. He finished with 22 points and eight rebounds and Johnson had 20 points.
Edward Waters women to play Albany
The Edward Waters women’s team, top-seeded in the SIAC East, will play its first tournament game after a first-round bye against Albany State (Ga.) on March 4 at 2 p.m. in Morrow, Ga. Albany defeated Kentucky State 58-56 in a first-round game.
The Tigers (23-4) are on a 14-game winning streak. They swept Albany during the regular season, winning 71-42 on the road and 89-49 at home.
Flagler men will play at USC-Beaufort
The Flagler College men’s team, fifth-seeded in the Peach Belt Conference, will play at No. 4 USC-Beaufort on March 4 in Bluffton, S.C. in the first round of the conference tournament. The winner will play the winner between top-seeded Lander and USC-Aiken on March 7, with the higher-seeded team hosting.
Flagler (17-11) won its last regular-season game at home on Feb. 28, beating Georgia College 75-57 behind 16 points by senior guard Rahdir Hicks.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Edward Waters men’s basketball wins SIAC tournament opener in overtime
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
