SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State rallied from a 15-point deficit and held The Citadel to one field goal in the final six minutes but fell short in a 54-47 loss to the Bulldogs in Tiger Arena.

Bryan Streeter made two free throws with 5:16 remaining to give The Citadel a 47-32 lead.

Savannah State answered with eight points to pull within seven points with 1:35 left.

A Tracy Rankins jumper with 35 seconds on the clock cut SSU's deficit to 52-47 but Cameron Wells made two free throws for the Bulldogs with five seconds left to seal the victory.

Savannah State fell to 5-10 while the Bulldogs improved to 7-7.

Rankins led all scorers with 17 points. Rashad Hassan added 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Tigers.

The Citadel scored the first five points of the contest but SSU rallied with a 13-2 run to go ahead 13-7 with 10:41 on the clock.

The Bulldogs were able to tie the score at 13 and took a 26-18 lead into the half.

Austin Dahn came off the bench to lead The Citadel with 12 points.

SSU shot 40 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 29 to 24.

The difference in the game was the Bulldog's bench play. The Citadel reserves out-scored the SSU bench players 27-2.