The Albany State men’s basketball team, (6-13 6-8 SIAC) had its three-game winning streak halted, and lost a chance to get back to .500 in conference play, by the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College in closely contested 60-58 matchup Thursday night.
After an opening six and a half minutes that saw the teams swap leads 5 times and a tie, Morehouse took a 10-8 lead on a jumper from Ian Williams. For the balance of the half, the Maroon Tigers would shows the way, building as much as a 11-point lead at 26-15 on Robin White’s jumper with 5:35 left in the half. Christian Lamar’s jump shot, which came as a result of an offensive rebound he grabbed to extend the possession, put Morehouse up 33-26 headed into halftime.
Albany State played from behind for most of the second half, however continued to fight, eventually tying the game at 56 with 95 seconds to go when Maurice Dickson converted an and-1 after being fouled on a short jumper int he paint. The Golden Rams would knot the contest at 58 with 0:52 left on the second if a pair of Dickson free throws. Unfortunately for Albany State they were unable to defend Morehouse without fouling them , as a Kendan Dixon fouled Mohmad Diallo on the subsequent Maroon Tiger possession, sending Diallo to the line, where he would split the pair of free throws, putting Morehouse up by one with 0:36 left in the ball game.
DIckson missed a jumper in the paint, and Ibn Williams was fouled on a fast break, sending him to the charity stripe, where he too split the free throws, still leaving the door open for the Golden Rams. However the potential game-winning three -pointer from Dixon was no good, allowing the Maroon Tigers to escape with a two-point win.
Albany State did themselves no favor offensively, as they only shot 35.3% ( 18-51) from the floor, and just 33% (10-30) from downtown. The Golden Rams shot themselves in the foot at the foul line, shooting just 12-20 from the charity stripe.
Terin Wofford led Albany State with 11 points on 4-8 FG and 2-4 from distance; Maurice Dickson was the only other Golden Ram in double figures with 10 points, although he shot just 1-7 from the floor, he did connect on 8 of his 9 free throw attempts. Malik Parker and Maxwell Harris each chipped in 9 points.
The Maroon Tigers and Golden Rams will run it back Saturday, with Morehouse playing host. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM EST
