The Benedict College Tigers men’s basketball team got off to their best start in 25 years, posting a 13-0 record at the beginning of this season.
With conference play underway, the Tigers have shifted their focus of the season to honoring one of their own.
Garry Capers II, affectionately known as Deuce, passed away right before the Tigers were preparing for their game against Clark Atlanta.
Deuce was a member of the Benedict College JV team and according to Tiger assistant coach Phillip Jackson, had a significant impact on the team as just a sophomore.
“We have two guys that’s actually on our roster who were on our JV roster and [Duece] was one of those kids that was up next,” he said. “Our JV team conditions with us, they do individual workouts with us, so he meant a lot to a lot of guys.”
The Tiger community honored Duece with a balloon release on MLK Day before joining his loved ones at his funeral the following Sunday.
Jackson said Deuce was the type of player that could motivate the team without saying a word.
“He let his game speak for itself. He was a very, very good young man, very coachable,” Jackson said. “Very humble, very soft spoken. He would go out there and give you everything that he had.”
Jackson added that Deuce was a planner and a doer.
“He was a young man, but at this particular stage in his life, he just wanted to be on the varsity team. He was making strides to do that and like i said, he was up next.”
The Tigers hit a slight skid as they played with heavy hearts, losing a tough one to Clark Atlanta in overtime and one to Morehouse. They bounced back against Albany State and head into the crosstown rivalry game against Allen with some momentum.
Allen’s men’s team comes to the contest with a 9-8 record and have won two of its last three. The game will be at HRC Arena on Benedict’s campus at 3 p.m.
On the women’s side, Allen is 4-10 on the year and looking to end its seven-game losing streak on Saturday. They face a Benedict team that is 3-14 on the year and looking to end a two-game losing streak of its own. Tip-off for that contest will be at 1 p.m