Box Score DURHAM, N.C.- Down by 15 points early in the second period, Savannah State put together a 23-8 run to tie the game and eventually send it into overtime in a 64-57 loss to North Carolina Central in an game played at McDougal-McLendon Gym before a crowd of 2,732.
The contest was knotted at 50 at the end of regulation and the Eagles out-scored SSU 14-7 in the extra frame.
Savannah State trailed by five at the half but NCCU (24-5, 14-1) opened the second period with ten straight points for a 33-18 lead.
Trailing 41-32, the Tigers received a pair of free throws from
Jyles Smith, a 3-pointer from
Deven Williams, a layup by Terrel Hall and two more free throws by Smith to tie the game at 41 with 5:26 remaining.
The Eagles went ahead 46-43 but a 3-pointer by Williams tied the game at 46 at the 2:43 mark.
With Central ahead 50-48 with ten seconds left, Hall made a layup for the Tigers with two seconds remaining to force a extra five minutes of action.
With the game tied at 52, the Eagles reeled off a 10-2 spurt that provided the knockout punch for their 12
th straight win.
Williams led the Tigers with 14 points, all after halftime. The senior guard made all four 3-point attempts and both free throw attempts. Kierre Richards scored nine of his 12 points in the first half while Smith contributed 11 rebounds, 10 points and six blocks.
The Tigers (11-18, 9-6) shot 40 percent from the field for the game and out-rebounded NCCU 36 to 35.
The first half was close with no team leading by more than six points.
Tied at 13, the Eagles scored six straight points to open up a 19-13 advantage with 5:20 remaining.
SSU forged back to close their gap to 19-18 after a 3-pointer by Richards with 2:06 left but Central ended the half with a jumper from Emanuel Chapman and a dunk by Jordan Parks to go into intermission with a 23-18 lead.
Parks and Jeremy Ingram led the eagles with 17 points each while Chapman chipped in 14.
As a team, NCCU made 38.2 percent of their shots and went 19 of 28 from the free throw line.
