Savannah, Georgia-Behind the strength of a 40 point, 15 rebound effort from Larry Kuimi, and strong guard play from Cahlib Edwards and Byron Abrams, East Division #7 seed Edward Waters was able to upset East Division #3 seed Fort Valley State 89-83 in overtime in their second round matchup at the 2023 TIAA SIAC Basketball Championship presented by TIAA, Tuesday afternoon at Tiger Arena.

Edward Waters (10-18, 7-14 SIAC) had an uphill battle in the first half of play, trailing by as many as 11 points. A late Tiger run cut the deficit to four points at the half at 40-36. The Purple & Orange came out swinging in the in the second half scoring the first four points to knot the contest up at 40-40. The two squads went back and forth with Fort Valley State (13-16, 10-11 SIAC) nudging their way out front at 60-55 with 10:46 remaining. The Wildcats pushed the lead out to six at 72-67 with 3:01 remaining, but Edward Waters responded with a 5-0 run to tie the contest again at 72-72 with 1:32 left. Two late free throws for FVSU allowed them to retake the lead at 75-73 with :26 remaining. With :01 remaining Byron Abrams, hit a layup high off of the glass to tie the contest at 75-75 to send the game into overtime.

In the extra frame, the Tigers seized control for good with :26 remaining thanks to Larry Kuimi's layup to give the good guys an 85-83 lead. FVSU on their ensuing possession missed a jumpshot and immediately began to foul, allowing the Tigers to hit four free throws down the stretch to ice the game and advance to the Quarterfinal round.

For the contest, Edward Waters shot 50% from the floor on 29-58 shooting and owned the paint, outscoring the Wildcats 44-30. The Tigers also took care of business on the glass, outrebounding Fort Valley State 48-42. Kuimi's 40 point effort was the highest point output from any player in the tournament so far. Cahlib Edwards finished with 20 points and six boards, while Byron Abrams chipped in with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

The Purple & Orange will next lock up with West Division #2 seed Miles College in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at 7:30pm.

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