Shemani Fuller once again shines vs the Morehouse College Tigers scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds leading the Clark Atlanta Panthers to victory 68-65 over Morehouse College. The Clark Atlanta Panthers defeated their rival Morehouse College Tigers to clinch a season sweep for the second time this year and the first time since 2013.
Graduate student Andrew Stewart was a vital part of Clark’s victory scoring 10 points, Graduate student Chris Martin was a nice addition with 12 points off the bench. Junior Kharye Cayne was once again a beast in the painted area, grabbing 10 rebounds alongside 10 blocks.
The Battle of AUC was another classic on Saturday night with over 1,400 people in attendance and another 1,000 watching from home and first place on the line in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division. Both teams gave the fans a show and displayed the importance of this rivalry. The passionate fan bases brought the energy as well, whether it was Morehouse and Clark Atlanta cheerleaders battling it doing timeouts or the appearance of the Divine 9 from both schools and even the separate seating arrangements for Morehouse fans and Clark fans the electricity inside McAfee Court was at an all-time high.
A scrappy first half was really on display as bodies hit the deck, and players talking smack to one another; this was everything you wanted in a rivalry game. Sophomore forward Shemanil Fuller would kick things off for Clark Atlanta grabbing an early 2-0 lead with 18:20 left. Morehouse would then respond going on a 5-0 run to take their first lead 5-2. The two teams would continue to duel going blow for blow jab for jab. Clark would have their largest lead with a 9-point advantage at the 11:12 mark with the score 19-10.
Morehouse answered CAU with a 9-0 run to tie the game up at 19 a piece with 7:45 left. Morehouse’s bench was a factor in the 1st half led by junior guard Demetrius Calip ll, Morehouse had 23 bench points compared to Clark Atlanta’s 4. Calip ll was the spark that Morehouse needed off the bench, scoring 9 points in a row to give Morehouse a 28-24 advantage at the 2:42 mark.
The Last Chance U Star gave every ounce of energy he had in the first half scoring 12 points and was an absolute pest on defense as he racked up multiple steals. Calip would be the focal point of Morehouse’s offense in the first half and was a major contributor to why the Tigers had the halftime advantage 35-32.
The second half would be an intense struggle between the two fierce rivals, Morehouse started the 2nd half with immense energy, going on a 7-1 run while making it very difficult for CAU to score. The Tigers would have a 9-point lead at 17:05 left (33-42), not before having their largest advantage in the game to this point after a bucket from junior Jaden Gray to give Morehouse a 10-point lead 34-44 with 16:18 remaining.
Morehouse seemingly had control of the 2nd half, getting whatever shot they wanted against the 8th-ranked Clark Atlanta defense. On the other hand, CAU would be having trouble getting into their offense, as the leading scorer in the SIAC graduate student Chris Martin only had 2 points up to this point.
Still, Morehouse could not put away the Panthers, after a jumper from freshman Cedric Taylor lll from Morehouse to extend their lead to 9 13:07 mark, CAU was trailing 49-40. Clark would show the true heart of a panther, scores from junior Xavier Smith, junior Jalen Nesmith, and graduate student Andrew Stewart helped spark a Clark Atlanta 9-0 run to tie the ball game up at 49-49 with 9:53 left. Morehouse would continue to have control of the 2nd half as they had the lead but not for very long as the Panthers were chipping away the Morehouse lead.
Clark would grab its first lead at the 6:02 mark after a steal from Jalen Nesmith and a dunk by Shemani Fuller in transition to give Clark Atlanta a 2-point lead (58-56). As the game progressed, Clark Atlanta continued to lead after free throws from CAU Chris Martin, making the lead 67-63 with 0:33 seconds left.
Morehouse cut the deficit after Cedric Taylor tallied with a layup bringing the score 67-65. Then, Morehouse would have a foul on Chirs Martin sending him to the line where he made 1 of 2 free throws displaying the score 68-65 leaving Morehouse a chance to send the game into overtime. However, Morehouse’s shot attempt by junior Omar Rowe was unsuccessful.
Junior guard Demetrius Calip ll was exceptional off the bench for Morehouse College, scoring 18 points with 3 steals, Cedric Taylor lll was a great piece off the bench contributing 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Morehouse College heads to Columbia, SC to take on the Benedict College Tigers on February 24 at 3 P.M. in the HRC Arena.
Meanwhile, the Clark Atlanta Panthers will be on the road to play against the Allen University Yellow Jackets in Columbia, SC at the John Hurst Adams Gymnasium, with tip-off scheduled for 3 P.M.
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