SAVANNAH, Ga.- Preston Blackman's 3-pointer with 3:38 left broke a 45-45 tie and Savannah State finished the game by scoring the rest of their points from the free throw line in a 54-47 win over North Florida at Tiger Arena.

SSU trailed by 11 points early in the second half but used a 12-1 run to take a 36-34 lead with 15:01 left.

The Ospreys led 40-38 but a 3-pointer by Blackman fueled a 7-0 run by SSU to give the Tigers a 45-40 lead with 9:09 remaining.

North Florida answered with a 3-pointer by Parker Smith and a dunk from Travis Wallace to tie the game at 45 with 5:54 on the clock.

Blackman's 3-pointer gave SSU the lead for good although a pair of free throws by Will Wilson pulled North Florida within 48-47 with 2:19 left but the Ospreys would not score again.

The crowd of 1,055 saw four different SSU players made free throws in the final 1:52 to help the Tigers improve to 2-1.

Blackman finished with 21 points while Rashad Hassan added 11 points and 5 rebounds. Jyles Smith added 6 rebounds and 4 blocks.

As a team, SSU shot 50 percent from the floor and improved their free throw shooting to 60 percent.

Both teams made 16 turnovers but Savannah State out-rebounded UNF 34 to 23.

North Florida jumped out to a 19-9 lead and increased it to 29-16 at the 3:35 mark after a dunk by Jerron Granberry.

SSU got as close as seven but a jumper by Wallace sent UNF into the half with a 31-22 advantage.

Smith was the only Osprey in double figures with 17 points, making five 3-pointers.

As a team, UNF shot 48.1 percent from the floor in the opening half but only made 4 of 21 from the field after halftime.