February 4, 2012 – ATLANTA – Bolstered by the return of center Andrae Nelson, the Maroon Tigers broke a nine-game losing streak, beating the Claflin University Panthers, 64-62.

 

Morehouse (12-of-15) hit a season-high 80 percent from the free-throw line, including the game winners by Shawn Allen, who hit two free throws, with eight seconds remaining, to put the game away.  

 

Neither team gained more than a six-point lead, in the see-saw game that featured 11 ties and 22 lead changes.

 

Late in the second half, the Panthers rallied for their biggest lead and threatened to blow the game away, but a layup by Nelson and five straight points by Allen gave Morehouse a 55-54 lead.   

 

In addition to breaking the worst losing streak since the 2008-09 season, the win avenged an 85-78 loss to Claflin, in Orangeburg (SC), December 1.

 

Morehouse improved to 4-14 (4-12 SIAC). Claflin fell to 7-13 (7-12 SIAC).  

 

Nelson, who missed five games, started for the first time, since being injured January 19, in a loss to Paine.  

 

Nelson, one of four Maroon Tigers who scored in double figures, hit 6-of-10 shots, for 14 points, and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.

 

The game's next highest rebounder was teammate Shawn Allen, who grabbed six boards, to go with a game-high 18 points and four assists. Allen did most of his damage from the charity stripe, hitting 10-of-11.

 

Cornez Nesbitt and Daniyal Faquir each had solid games, with 12 points each. Nesbit hit 6-of-8 shots and Faquir hit 5-of-8.

 

Gerald Dunn hit two key three-pointers, to keep the Tigers in the close game. Point guard Adam Callaway missed his only shot, but he had a team-high seven assists, to go with three rebounds.

 

Terrence Bowman and Edward Green led the Panthers, with 12 points each. Every other Panther scored at least three points, but none other had more than eight.

 

The Maroon Tigers return to home action, Tuesday, against Fort Valley and Thursday against Albany State. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.