LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Talladega College men's basketball team fell 73-65 to GCAC foe Philander Smith University tonight on the road. With the loss, Talladega is now 19-6 overall and 8-4 in the conference while the Panthers are now 17-7 and 12-3 in the GCAC.

Talladega opened up the game with a 5-3 lead before the Panthers drained a three to take a one-point lead less than three minutes into the contest.  Following the three, Philander Smith used a 15-8 run to push its lead to 21-13 with 7:23 left in the half. Talladega fought back to come as close as seven when it trailed 26-19, but the Wildcats went into halftime with a 35-26 lead.

Coming out of halftime, the Panthers added to their lead to make it 43-31 five minutes into the half.  The Tornadoes used a 10-1 run to cut the lead to three with just under 13 minutes left in the game. Philander Smith was able to get some breathing room as it took a 49-41 lead but Talladega responded as it made it a four-point game.  The Wildcats held a slight edge on Talladega but the Tornadoes were able to make it a three-point game twice trailing 60-57 the second time after Corey Sands hit a pair of free throws. The Panthers made sure that was close as the Tornadoes would come as they went on to a 73-65 win.

Talladega tallied 15 second-chance points to the Panthers five while the Tornado bench added 43 points.

Jevon Tatum led Talladega with 14 points while shooting 5-of-11 from the field while finishing with a team-high two steals. Teammate Sands tallied 11 points while going 3-of-4 from the line and 3-of-7 from the floor.

D'Andre Boyd grabbed five boards while adding eight points. Boyd's five boards tied for most on the team with Ethelbert Anum. Anum also tallied five points in the process.

Talladega is back home on Tuesday, Feb 20 when it faces Oakwood University at 7 p.m.