AUGUSTA, Ga. | Tuskegee used a pair of big runs to pull away from Paine for a 76-57 road victory at the Heal Complex in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) action Monday night.
 
James Eads led all scorers with a career-high as he posted 22 points for Tuskegee (7-5, 3-2 SIAC) on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. He was joined in double figures by Kevin May with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor and seven assists.
 
Joshua Culver added nine points, while James Vinson contributed eight off the bench and Camden Foster grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for the Golden Tigers.
 
Tuskegee shot 55.9 (33-of-59) percent from the floor and 40 (6-of-15) percent shooting from beyond the arc while winning the rebounding battle, 38-27.
 
Arnis Libaz led three Paine Lions in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Patrick Petty and Christian Nobles each added 15.
 
The Golden Tigers, one of the nation's best defensive teams, held Paine well below their season scoring average and held the Lions to just 30.4 (14-of-46) percent shooting from the floor.
 
Tuskegee grabbed an early lead midway through the first half due to a 12-0 run that covered three minutes. After leading 18-15, the Golden Tigers started the run with a 15-foot jumper from James Eads with 10:56 to play in the half. That was followed by a Andrew Jimenez baseline jumper after an offensive rebound with 10:29 to play in the half.
 
The run continued when Camden Foster converted a lay-up off a pass from Eads on a fast break with 9:59 to play in the half, followed by a Thomas Massey lay-up from a Jimenez assist to push the lead to 26-15. The run ended on baskets from Foster and an eight-footer from Elijah McMillan with 7:45 to play in the half to extend the lead to 30-15 (the biggest of the night).
 
Paine was able to close the gap late in the half, scoring 13 of the final 20 points of the half. However it wasn't enough to overcome the hot-shooting of Tuskegee as the Golden Tigers connected on 53.3 (16-of-30) percent of their shots from the floor while holding Paine to just six field goals in the first 20 minutes.
 
The second half started much like the run midway through the first as the Golden Tigers opened the half on a 14-1 run to take their largest lead of the night at 51-31. The half started with a floater from Kevin May, followed by a seven straight points from Eads to extend the lead to 47-31 with 18:06 to play in the game.
 
The run continued when Joshua Culver knocked down a 15-footer and ended on a short jumper by May with 16:25 to play in the game – leading into a media timeout.
 
The Golden Tigers had an answer each time Paine tried to rally in the second half, keeping the lead in double digits until the final buzzer.
 
Tuskegee returns to action Saturday afternoon, returning home for the first time since December 5 when they play host to Central State University at 3:00 pm inside Chappie James Arena.
 
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