Article by Chad Clevenger
The Central Christian Tigers suffered an 81-60 loss to the Nelson University Lions on Tuesday, dropping to 8-2 on the season and 4-2 in the SAC. Scoring by Chris Whitten (15 points), Omari Maulana (12 points, 5 assists), and Andre Shelby (11 points), were not enough as the Tigers struggled to contain the Lions' bench, and fell Thursday night 81-60.
 
Nelson's bench play was a major factor in the game, with the Lions outscoring the Tigers 43-13 in bench points. Central's inability to take advantage of Nelson's turnovers—scoring just 1 point off 10 Lions turnovers—was a crucial factor in the outcome. In contrast, Nelson converted 15 points off turnovers.
 
The game was close early on, as the score was tied at 21 with 6:45 remaining in the half but a 13-2 Nelson run in the next 4 minutes proved tough for the Tigers. Nelson took control with a 36-28 lead at the half. In the second half, Nelson outscored Central 45-32, pushing their lead to 21 points by the final buzzer.
 
Za'Corey Stewart provided a spark off the bench for the Tigers, contributing 9 points on an efficient 4-5 shooting. However, the Lions' depth and strong all-around performance proved too much to overcome.
 
Key Stat: Nelson's 43 points from the bench to Central's 13
 
Tiger Leaders:
Points: Chris Whitten (15)
Assists: Omari Maulana (5)
Rebounds: Chris Whitten (4), Andre Shelby (4), Andruw Rondon (4)
Steals: Andre Shelby (2), Malachi Farr (2)
Blocks: Andruw Rondon (1)
 
Central will look to rebound on Saturday with a home game against the University of North Texas-Dallas at 3:45 p.m. Game can be seen on the SAC Sports Network.