ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Auburn Montgomery men's basketball squad will open the 2017-18 season on Friday evening when they travel to Orangeburg, S.C., to take on Claflin University as a part of the 2017 GSC/SIAC Challenge, a four team tournament featuring schools from the Gulf South Conference as well as the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Game Information: Claflin University
Date: Friday, November 10, 2017
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Orangeburg, S.C. | Kennedy Health And Physical Education Center
Media Coverage: Live Stats |
Live Video
Game Information: Benedict College
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Orangeburg, S.C. | Kennedy Health And Physical Education Center
Media Coverage: Live Stats
About the Warhawks
AUM opened the season with a 76-73 decision last Friday evening to Alabama State at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome in an exhibition matchup between the two schools. Junior guard
Desmond DeRamus scored a game-high 23 points in the contest with fellow guard
Reagan Eubanks chipping in 12 to the Warhawks' total.
DeRamus led the team in scoring and points per game last season, tallying 381 points on the year for a 15.2 points per game average.
Friday will mark the first meeting between AUM and Claflin since the opening game of the 1997-98 season, a 79-76 overtime victory for the Panthers. This will be the first meeting between the Warhawks and Benedict College.
About the Panthers
Claflin finished last season with an overall mark of 17-10 with a 12-5 record in the SIAC. The Panthers were the No. 1 seed heading into the SIAC Basketball Championships last season, but were upset in the quarterfinals of the tournament by Fort Valley State, 76-58.
The Panthers return their second leading scorer in redshirt-junionr Austin Lawton, who averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He also led the team in blocks with 66. Overall the Panthers return three starters from last year's squad. Claflin head coach Ricky Jackson was named the SIAC Coach of the Year for the 2016-17 season.
Claflin will play GSC opponent and AUM rival the University of Montevallo after facing the Warhawks on Friday evening.
About the Tigers
Benedict College tied for first place in the SIAC East Division last season with an overall record of 17-12 and a 12-5 mark in conference. They are currently receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Preseason Top 25 Poll.
The Tigers' Brandon Morris was voted the 2017 SIAC Preseason Men's Basketball Player of the Year by the conferences' head coaches and sports information directors. Morris, a 6-8 senior forward from Lithonia, Ga., averaged 18 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his first season with Benedict.
Benedict will open the tournament with Montavallo on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Up Next
After the weekend in Orangeburg, the Warhawks will travel to Owensboro, Ky., to take on Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3:15 p.m.
For the latest on AUM athletics, find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
