NEWARK, N.J.- Savannah State held New Jersey Tech without a field goal for nearly seven minutes but would still fall to the Highlanders 59-49 in the Fleisher Athletic Center.

It was a homecoming game for SSU freshman guard Ezinne Kalu. The Newark native led Savannah State with 18 points, 7 steals and 6 rebounds.

The game was close in the opening period but NJIT scored six straight points to grab a 19-12 lead with 12:22 on the clock.

SSU rallied to tie the game at 21 and twice more in the half before.

With the score knotted at 30 with 3:12 remaining, SSU went ahead 32-31 on a layup by Courtney Long but the Highlanders finished the half with a 8-0 run to take a 39-32 advantage into the break.

The first half featured four ties and 11 lead changes.

NJIT used a 9-2 run to start the second half and go ahead by 14 with 15:23 on the clock.

SSU got within 10 but a 7-2 spurt by the Highlanders gave them their biggest lead of the night at 55-40 with 6:51 left.

NJIT did not score another field goal the rest of the game but Savannah State could only get as close as eight points.

Darice Fountaine added 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Lady Tigers (11-9) while Long contributed 9 points and 6 steals.

SSU shot 19.4 percent from the floor in the second half and 28.8 percent for the game.

Jessica Gerald led NJIT (7-12) with a game-high 22 points