Claflin pulls away in final minutes to top Lane

ATLANTA — Claflin University used a late run to create distance in a 79-68 victory over Lane College on Monday in the opening round of the 2013 SIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament being played through Saturday at Franklin L. Forbes Arena on the campus of Morehouse College.

Claflin’s Jarrod Denard led all scorers with a game-high 22 points. Michael Jones tallied 18 points and David Glover tossed in 11, all off the Panthers’ bench to lead Claflin to a quarterfinal match-up Wednesday afternoon at 3:15 against #1 West seed Tuskegee.

Trailing 32-28 at the half, Claflin found it difficult to shake off the physical play of the Dragons until midway through the second half when the Panthers took a 56-54 lead.

With less than two minutes remaining, Claflin built its largest lead of the contest at 77-65. Free throws down the stretch proved to be crucial for the Panthers, who converted on 6-6 as they advanced in the tournament.

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