GREENSBORO, N.C.- North Carolina A&T shot 26.1 percent from the floor in the second half and went the final 9:42 without a field goal but the Aggies made 7 of 8 free throw attempts in the final 43 seconds in a 59-57 win over Savannah State at the Corbett Sports Center.

Savannah State trailed by 15 at intermission but battled back to tie the game at 52 with 2:41 remaining.

A&T made four free throws to go ahead 56-52 with 32 seconds left but a free throw by Rashad Hassan and a layup from Preston Blackman pulled the Tigers within 56-55 with 28 seconds to go.

A free throw by Lamont Middleton gave the Aggies a 57-55 lead. Hassan drove inside to try to give SSU the lead but his shot was blocked by Austin Witter with six seconds left. Middleton got the loose ball and was fouled by Deven Williams. Middleton made two free throws for a 59-55 advantage. Blackmon made a layup for the Tigers at the buzzer at the end.

The game, which was televised by ESPNU, saw the Tigers (17-13, 10-5) lose their third straight and fall into 4^th place in the MEAC standings.

Blackman had 17 points for SSU while Hassan added 14 and nine rebounds. Arnold Louis chipped in 11 rebounds.

A&T jumped out to a quick start with a 11-0 lead. SSU's first basket came at the 14:55 mark when Williams hit a 3-pointer as part of a 9-0 run.

Savannah State got as close as two but the Aggies answered with a 16-4 run to increase their lead to 27-13 with just over six minutes on the clock.

Back to back baskets by Hassan got the Tigers within 27-17 with 5:06 remaining but A&T held SSU to just one free throw the rest of the half and took a 33-18 cushion into the locker room.

Trailing by nine with just under 12 minutes left in the second half, the crowd of 783 saw the Tigers went go a 13-4 run and a 3-pointer by Williams knotted the game at 52.

A&T (15-15, 8-7) was led by Adrian Powell's 18 points.

SSU made 23 turnovers but shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the second period. The Tigers also out-rebounded A&T 43 to 33 and made 54.5 percent of their 3-point shots.