GREENVILLE, S.C.- Justin Babb ran for a school record 229 yards as Savannah State opened its 2009 season with a 34-12 win over Livingstone in the 5th Annual HBCU Classic played in Sirrine Stadium before a crowd of 2,100 fans.

The victory was SSU's first season opening win since a overtime win over Norfolk State in 2004.

As a team, the Tigers gained 483 yards of offense while the defense limited the Blue Bears to 28-yards rushing and sacked the Livingstone quarterback six times.

SSU got on the scoreboard with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter when Rashard Russell blocked a Livingstone punt that was recovered by the Blue Bears in their own end zone for a safety.

The Tigers scored on their next two possessions to go ahead 15-0.

Kurvin Curry ran for a two-yard touchdown with 6:26 left in the opening quarter to complete a 10-play, 52-yard drive. The two point conversion failed. After stopping Livingstone on their next possession, SSU marched 87-yards in just two plays as Babb scored on a 81-yard run with 2:02 on the clock. Derek Williams' extra point kick was good.

Darren Hunter picked off a Livingstone pass to start the second quarter which led to a 32-yard field goal by D. Williams with 6:47 left in the quarter.

The SSU defense remained steady all night as senior defensive lineman Chris Reed sacked the Bears quarterback and recovered the fumble at the Livingstone 44. This led to a 17-yard touchdown pass from A.J. DeFilippis to Deron Talley with 56 seconds left to cap a 5-play, 44-yard drive for a 25-0 lead.

Livingstone got on the scoreboard in the third quarter when Steven Williams completed a pass to Omar McFadden for a 30-yard touchdown with 3:28 left in the quarter. the extra point kick failed and SSU's lead was sliced to 25-6.

Early in the fourth quarter, D. Williams kicked a 22-yard field goal for the Tigers to increase their lead to 28-6 to cap a 10 play, 42-yard drive.

Livingstone answered SSU as S. Williams threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Linwood Jenkins on their next possession. The two point conversion pass failed and the Tigers had their advantage cut to 28-12 with 11:15 left.

On their next possession, Savannah State drove 70-yards in 11 plays as Daniel Heslop ran for a 15-yard touchdown to make the score 34-12 with 5:03 remaining. The two point conversion pass failed.

Heslop added 83 yards rushing for the Tigers while Deleon Hollinger caught a pair of passes for 44 yards. DeFilippis and Curry combined to complete 8-of-14 passes for 92 yards. Chris Asbury led the SSU defense with nine tackles.

Jeremy Hughes ran for 22 yards for Livingstone (0-2), S. Williams threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns and McFadden caught four passes for 57 yards. Alkeem Deloatch had a game-high 10 tackles.

The win gives Savannah State a 7-1 lead in the series with Livingstone.