FORT VALLEY, Ga. – The Wildcats ran out of time to regain the momentum. After leading by a bucket at half, Fort Valley State faltered in the second 20 minutes and fell to Benedict College, 65-53, on the Tuesday night men's basketball court.

Tied at 30-30 in the opening second-half moments, Khirus Doucet made a layup and Jaylen Jackson followed with a trey for a five-point lead with only 1:35 elapsed. Benedict ran off the next nine points and 14 of the ensuing 16 points for a new found 44-37 advantage. The Tigers ran off an additional nine-straight points minutes and allowed the Wildcats no closer than seven points on a Jackson 3-pointer with 4:17 left.

With the loss, FVSU (10-15/9-9 SIAC East) still split the season series against Benedict (5-20/5-13 SIAC East). The Wildcats took the meeting in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 18 by a 65-52 final tally.

Jackson drained a trio of 3-pointers and paced FVSU with 13 points and added two blocked shots. Marcus Scott chipped in two triples as part of a 10-point night to go with five assists and four caroms.

Sayerr Senghore narrowly missed a double-double with nine points on 4 of 6 field goals and 11 rebounds. Hassane Diallo made all three of his shots for six points and pulled in four boards.

Off the bench, Antonio Pelham continued his solid play with 3 of 6 from beyond the arc for nine points.

Caleb Hymon led the Tigers with 22 points.

The Tigers ran off their first run of the night, 10-0, for a 13-4 margin after almost five minutes into the contest. FVSU turned the tables with its own 14-5 surge for an 18-18 deadlock on a Pelham 3-pointer. The third Pelham trey gave the Wildcats a lead, 23-20, it would not give up for the final 6:54 of the first half.

FVSU stays at home for its 'Senior Night' and 'Winter Homecoming ' this Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22, against Albany State. The tip will be at 3:30 p.m.

-Wildcats-