AUGUSTA, Ga. -  The Paine College men's basketball team were defeated by Morehouse College 78-54 Monday evening in the HEAL Complex in Augusta, Georgia.

The Lions fall to (1-14, 0-9 SIAC) while the Maroon Tigers improve to (10-6, 4-4 SIAC).

After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, Paine mounted a comeback and took the lead 33-32 with just 4:05 remaining. Morehouse would end the half on an 8-0 run taking the lead going into the locker room 40-33. MC would not relinquish their lead in the second half and saw it climb to as much as 25 points before closing out the game.

PC was led by Justin Syphoe who came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points while connecting on 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Malcom Whittington had 11 points and four steals while Kaderious Compton also finished with 11 points. Paine would finish with a game-high 6 blocks but turned the ball over 25 times against the tenacious Maroon Tiger defense.

Paine shot 38.0 (19-of-50) percent while Morehouse shot a scorching 50.0 (31-of-62) percent from the field including 10 three-pointers.

MC was led by Omar Alston who finished with a double-double (18 points / 10 rebounds) while Tyrius Walker flirted with a triple-double with an 11 points, 7 rebound and eight assist effort.

The Lions return to action this Saturday when they travel to Orangeburg, South Carolina to take on the Panthers of Claflin University at 3 p.m.