COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Golden Tigers (10-3, 6-0 SIAC) defeated Allen, 72-66, on Monday afternoon in their first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action of the calendar year inside of the John Hurst Adams Gymnasium.

After a pair of Tuskegee free throws to open the scoring for the game nearly a minute into play, Allen responded with a back-to-back three-pointers to take an early lead at the 8:02 mark. A few possessions later, a fast break score from Arielle McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill.) tied the game at 6-6, before Allen responded with a 6-0 run to take the 12-6 advantage.
 
The Golden Tigers answered back minutes later and regained a 13-12 lead on a jumper from Ashiala Jackson (Merrillville, Ind.), the final lead change of the game. After outscoring Allen 13-2 over the next five minutes, Tuskegee closed the first with a 23-19.
 
The two teams traded scores to open the second, however a 7-0 run that included a three from Philli King (Snellville, Ga.) along with scores from Nadia Thorman-Mckey (Evanston, Ill.) and Sumaiyah Adbur-Rahim (Grand Prairie, Texas) gave Tuskegee a 32-22 lead with 6:30 to go in the second.
 
From there, the Golden Tigers maintained momentum, even gaining an 11-point advantage nearly three minutes later, however closed the half leading by seven, 40-33.
 
Tuskegee opened the second half with six unanswered points, retaking a double-digit lead early in the quarter and held on to that lead for a majority of the third, until a score inside from Allen with just 45 seconds remaining to cut the lead to eight and closing the quarter at 54-45.
 
After seeing the lead dwindle to six points nearly three minutes into the final quarter, Tuskegee regrouped to push the lead back to double figures once more. Dispite numerous attempts from Allen to cut the lead, including to just three with under two minutes remaining, the Golden Tigers held on for the 72-66 win.
 
Abdur-Rahim led Tuskegee offensively with a career-high 20 points in 31 minutes, along with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Meanwhile, three other scorers ended the night in double figures with McElroy adding 14 points, along with Jackson and Thorman-Mckey who added 13 and 12 points respectively.

The Golden Tigers outscored the Yellow Jackets in points off turnovers and fast break points (22-8), while Allen won the battle of bench points (21-10), second chance points, (10-7), and points in the paint (40-38).
 
Up Next
Tuskegee will return to action on Wednesday, January 4, as they remain in Columbia to face Benedict in their second of four road SIAC games to start the year. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. inside of HRC Arena.
 
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