SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State broke open a close game with two big runs in the second period in a 71-50 win over Howard at Tiger Arena, before a rowdy crowd of 2,110.
 
SSU led by six early in the second half before back to back baskets by Mike Phillips and Prince Okoroh pulled Howard within 35-33 with 17:21 left.
 
The Tigers answered with a 11-2 surge to up their lead to 46-35 with 13:07 remaining but a 3-pointer by Bison guard Glen Andrews made it a eight-point contest with 12:42 left to play.
 
That led to a 23-8 run by Savannah State where the Tigers scored 12 straight points which gave the home team a 69-46 advantage with 2:52 on the clock.
 
During the final 6:34 of the game, Howard was held to one field goal.
 
SSU, who improved to 8-1 at home, lifts their overall record to 11-10 and 6-2 in conference play.
 
The Tigers shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half and 49 percent for the game. SSU won the rebounding battle 37 to 27.
 
Savannah State built a 11-3 lead in the first half before Howard rallied to take a 17-14 advantage with 10:39 left.
 
A jumper with 3:01 left gave HU a 26-25 lead but the Tigers finished the half with a 7-3 mini-run to take a 32-29 lead into intermission.
 
Rashad Hassan had 22 points for the Tigers while Arnold Louis came off the bench to contribute 20 points and 14 rebounds. Deric Rudolph scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half while preston Blackmon had seven assists.
 
The Bison (4-17, 1-7) were led by Phillips who came off the bench to score 11 points. Howard shot 44.4 percent from the field in the first half and 37.5 percent for the game.