PANTHERS CRUISE TO A 76-59 WIN

Orangeburg, S.C. – Setting the tone early was the order of business for the Claflin University Panthers Thursday night.

Coach Ron Woodard wanted his team to establish itself early on both ends of the court against Morehouse College. And the Panthers followed suit with a76-59 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Morehouse College at the Jonas T. Kennedy Center.

With the win, Claflin evened its record at 3-3 on the young season, but more importantly 3-2 in the SIAC.

Morehouse remained winless on the season 0-4.

The backcourt tandem of Anthony Pigram and Eric Salley got things going for the Panthers with a play for the highlight reel. Pigram tossed a perfect alley hoop pass to Salley off a fast break that resulted in a slam dunk.

Salley followed the two-hand dunk with basket from behind the three-point line off another fast break opportunity, sending the visitors from Atlanta in a tailspin.

After Salley’s score, Morehouse Coach Grady Brewer could only watch as the Panthers put on an offensive show, reeling off 19 unanswered points over the next six minutes. The outburst saw Claflin built a commanding 22-5 lead with 11 minutes left in the opening period.

“Anthony and Eric gave us the boost we needed to start the game,” Woodard said. “We needed to come out of the block the first eight minutes.

“We needed to set the tone from the jump because we’ve been playing from behind most of the season. We also needed to make a better presentation on the floor than we did for homecoming and also improve our overall quality of play.”

When Salley, who had 14 points in the half and 25 for the game slowed down, Michael Jones was there to pick up the pieces. And boy did he.

The sophomore forward from Columbia drove the lane with ease, scoring from inside the paint as well as nailing down a jumper from the outside. Jones had 13 points in the first half to finish with 23 for the night.

Pigram was the only other player to score in double figures for the Panthers with 13 points.

The trio scored 61 of Claflin 76 points.

Michael Webb halted the Panther run by hitting a pair of free throws for the Tigers at the 10:39 mark.

Morehouse did manage to get on track before the half ended by outscoring Claflin 18-16 to trail 36-23 at intermission.

The first half saw Claflin shoot 45 percent from the field, compared to 34 for Morehouse.

In the second half, Morehouse pulled to within 13 points twice before Claflin went on a 10-4 run to put the contest out of reach at 63-44 with 8:39 left.

Claflin held its largest lead of the game 20 points with 46 seconds left in the game at 73-53.

Morehouse was led by Roderick Williams and Keon Blackledge with 16 points each. Reginald Williams added 15 points.

The Panthers and Pantherettes will be back in action Saturday, as the Thorobreds of Kentucky State visits Orangeburg, SC for a 1:30 conference game.

MOREHOUSE (59)

Roderick Williams 16, Shawn Allen 5, Keon Blackledge 16, Malcolm Frank 2, Michael Webb 2, Reginald Williams 15, Joshua Simmons 3.

CLAFLIN (76)

Michael Jones 23, Stacy McAlister 4, Anthony Pigram 13, Thomas Bookman 6, Eric Salley 25, Stanly Young 3, Efe Uwadiae-Odigie 2.