Box Score DURHAM, N.C.- Savannah State fell to 0-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference following a 58-40 loss to North Carolina Central.
 
The crowd of 1,479 in McDougald-McLendon Gym saw the Tigers overall record drop to 4-12.
 
A game opening layup by Terel Hall gave Savannah State the early lead but the Eagles answered with a 17-4 run to go ahead 17-6 with 9:13 remaining in the first half.
 
The Tigers trimmed their deficit to six but NCCU closed the half by scoring the final five points and took a 27-16 advantage into intermission.
 
Hall opened the second half with a layup and a free throw to pull the Tigers within 27-19.
 
Trailing 34-26, Central strung together a 10-2 run to extend their lead to 44-28 with 9:55 left.
 
With just under two minutes left, the Eagles (12-5, 4-0) had their biggest lead of the game, 56-35.
 
Brian Pearson, who finished the contest with 11 points, scored the final five points for the Tigers.
 
Pearson added five rebounds for SSU.
 
The Tigers shot 35.4 percent from the field.
 
Central shot 51.1 percent from the floor and edged the Tigers on the boards 28 to 27.
 
Nimrod Hilliard was the Eagles leading scorer with 17 points.