TUSKEGEE, Ala. | Austin Cherry set his career-high just four days ago and broke that on Thursday in an 84-72 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game at Chappie James Arena.
 
Cherry, who set his career-high against Clark Atlanta (23 points) on Monday, set a new career-high on Thursday with 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.
 
Tuskegee (12-10, 8-7 SIAC), playing without second-leading scorer Camden Foster, also had Elijah McMillan finish with 13 points and eight rebounds. James Vinson, in his first of the season, scored; while Kevin May scored 11 points and dished out eight assists.
 
The Golden Tigers shot 50.9 (29-of-57) percent from the floor and 47.8 (11-of-23) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 68.2 (15-of-22) percent from the free throw line while winning the rebounding battle 36-33.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth battle as Fort Valley State jumped to an early 8-3 lead with 13:37 left in the half, holding Tuskegee without a point for the first five minutes of the contest. However, the Golden Tigers battled back and tied the game at 14-all with 7:05 to play in the half on an Elijah McMillan lay-up off of a Cherry missed three-pointer.
 
The two teams traded the lead until Tuskegee went on a 5-0 run to take a 23-18 lead with 5:11 to play in the half, with all five points during the run. Fort Valley State went on their own run near the end of the first half as they tied the game at 27-all.
 
After a James Vinson lay-up with 1:38 to play in the half, Fort Valley State took a 30-29 lead with 1:25 to play on a Marcelis Hansberry three-pointer. Tuskegee was able to grab a 33-30 lead, until Fort Valley State's J.R. Bryant hit a lay-up as the buzzer sounded for the 33-32 halftime score.
 
Tuskegee went on an 11-0 run to open the second half, opening a 44-34 lead with 17:07 remaining in the game. The run started after a pair of Wildcat free throws, when James Eads knocked down a pair of free throws. It continued until Vinson hit a three-pointer from the week to open up the 10-point lead.
 
The Golden Tigers continued their push in the second half, extending the lead to as many as 15 at 53-38 when Cherry drained a three-pointer from the right wing with 15:37 to play in the game. Fort Valley State was able to close to within seven at 72-65 on back-to-back three-pointers by Jaylon McMillan with 3:34 to play in the game.
 
However, Tuskegee was able to answer back down the stretch and hold on for the victory.
 
Dareial Franklin led Fort Valley State (5-20, 3-12 SIAC) with 16 points, while Kris Bell added 10 off the bench. The Wildcats shot 43.8 (21-of-48) percent from the floor and 35.3 (6-of-17) percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Golden Tigers return to action Saturday afternoon against Albany State at Chappie James Arena. The game is scheduled to tip at 3 pm.
 
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