The Clark Atlanta Panthers led early but weren't able to keep up with Benedict, losing 81-74 Saturday at L.S. Epps Gymnasium.

Clark Atlanta (6-9, 3-6 SIAC) dropped their third consecutive game after winning three straight games.  Benedict (14-4, 10-1 SIAC) won their third straight and have won 13 of their last 14 games.  Benedict leads the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division while CAU is in fifth place.

Saturday, CAU came out strong, leading midway through the first half when Justin Longstreet's 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 12-11 lead with 11:50 left in the half.   But Benedict went on a 17-2 run over the next six minutes to pull out to a 29-13 lead.   The Tigers led 38-27 at the half.

The second half saw CAU whittle that lead down to six over the first two minutes of the half, culminated by Javonte Sterling's layup which made it 40-34.  The next four minutes saw Benedict make another run, this one 12-2 that got them back up by double figures at 52-36, their largest lead of the half.

The Panthers made one last run late in the game, getting the lead down to five points after a Longstreet 3-pointer made it 79-74 with 49 seconds left.  But CAU couldn't connect on their final three shots of the game.

Benedict dominated the inside, outscoring CAU 48-26 inside the paint.  They also held CAU to just under 40 percent of made baskets.

Longstreet led Clark Atlanta with 17 points, while Sterling added 15 points while also grabbing six rebounds.  Kye Jeremiah had 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal and Chris Martin finished with 11 points and ten rebounds.

Timothy Bing led Benedict with 19 points and seven rebounds, with Tajh Green scoring 15 points and Marshaun West finishing with a double-double – 14 points and ten rebounds.

The Panthers are back on the floor Monday when they host Allen University at 8 p.m. immediately following the CAU women's game against Allen.