Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State saw their five game home winning streak come to an end, following a 70-54 setback from Norfolk State at Tiger Arena.
 
Brian Pearson scored a career-high 14 points in the loss. Pearson, who made six of eight shots from the field, also had five rebounds.
 
It was the worst home defeat for the Tigers since a 68-51 loss to the Miami Hurricanes last season.
 
The Tigers jumped out to a 11-7 lead with Jamal Norman  scoring seven of those points on a 3-pointer, a jumper and a layup.
 
NSU responded to Savannah State with a 10-2 run to go ahead 17-13 with 9:21 left in the first half.
 
A layup by Pearson got Savannah State within 19-17 with 7:47 left but the Spartans ended the half with a 12-4 run to take a 31-21 cushion into intermission.
 
The crowd of 2,390 saw Norfolk State shoot 57.1 percent from the floor in the first period while the Tigers shot 28.6 percent.
 
The Spartans expanded their lead to 12 early in the second half.
 
Down, 39-27 with 16:39 on the clock, Savannah State received a layup and two free throws from Saadiq Muhammad and a layup from Terel Hall to cut their deficit to 39-33.
 
That would be as close as they would get to Norfolk State the remainder of the evening.
 
NSU led by 15 with 6:27 remaining but the Tigers would whittle the visitors lead down to 55-47 at the 3:55 mark.
 
A 3-pointer by the Spartans D'Shon Taylor proved to be the dagger that took the air out of SSU's ballon to make the score 58-47 with 3:26 left.
 
A layup by Muhammad made the score 58-49 but NSU answered with a 8-0 run to take a 66-49 lead with two minutes left.
 
A dunk by Taylor gave Norfolk their largest lead of the game at 70-51, with 22 seconds remaining.
 
Hall added 12 points for SSU (5-15, 1-5) while Muhammad came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
 
SSU ended the game shooting 36.4 percent from the floor and only made ten turnovers.
 
The Tigers were out-rebounded 38 to 20.
 
Norfolk State (14-9, 7-1) had four players in double figures.
 
RaShid Gaston led the way with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
 
The Spartans shot 62.2 percent from the floor but also made 21 turnovers on the night.
 
 
TIP-INS
 
Savannah State: SSU's last lost in Tiger Arena was February 17, 2014 to North Carolina Central.
Norfolk State: The Spartans improved to 13-0 this season when they outshoot opponents from 3-point range. NSU made five 3-pointers while SSU only made one.
 
UP NEXT
 
Savannah State: The Tigers will host North Carolina A&T on January 31. The Aggies defeated SSU 68-47 in Greensboro, NC on Jan. 10.
Norfolk State: The Spartans will host Hampton on Jan, 31 to start a three game home-stand.