SAVANNAH, Ga.- Clinging to a one point lead with nine and a half minutes remaining, Savannah State put together a 23-3 run and went on to defeat Florida National in the Tigers 2015-16 season opener, 87-69.
 
The SSU run gave the home team a 76-55 lead with 4:14 left in the game.

Florida National (2-3) could get not closer than 17 the rest of the way.

The Tiger Arena crowd of 2,860 saw SSU senior forward Brian Pearson have a big night with 11 points to go with his career-high 20 rebounds and four blocks.
 
Pearson was one of six Savannah State players who finished in double figures.
 
The Tigers had a sluggish first half as FNU jumped out to a 17-9 advantage.
 
SSU trailed most of the first period but a layup by Pearson gave the Tigers a 22-21 edge with 6:12 on the clock.
 
Florida National answered with six straight points.
 
Down by three with two and a half minutes left, SSU finished the first period with a 8-1 run and went into intermission with a 34-30 lead.
 
Florida National began the second half with a 10-4 run to go ahead 40-38 with 15:13 on the clock.
 
A 3-pointer by Kamil Williams sparked a 9-0 run by the Tigers (1-0) that gave SSU a 47-40 lead with 13:29 remaining.
 
The Conquistadors closed their gap to 53-52 before Savannah State started their big run.
 
Chris Martin had 16 points for SSU while Williams added 13. Khalen Pinkett and Troyce Manassa scored 11 apiece while Casey Wells chipped in 10.
 
The Tigers finished the game shooting 45.5 percent from the field while holding FNU to 39.7 percent.
 
SSU missed all nine of their 3 point attempts in the first half but made five of seven attempts in the second period. The Conquistadors finished the game with 11 made 3-pointers.
 
Both squads had trouble at the free throw line with SSU 55 percent while Florida National making 47.1 percent.
 
Savannah State edged FNU 42 to 41 in rebounds.
 
Regan O'Rourke had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds for FNU
 
Savannah State will host Campbell in Tiger Arena on November 16 at 7 p.m.