Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State went the final 5:18 without making a field goal but held on to defeat Bethune-Cookman 58-49 in Tiger Arena.
 
It was the 73rd meeting between the schools that dates back to 1946. Bethune leads the series 42 to 31.
 
The Tigers led by 17 with just over 13 minutes remaining but a 15-3 run by B-CU pulled the Wildcats within 52-47 with 2:43 on the clock.
 
In the final minutes of action, SSU sealed the victory with free throws from Javaris Jenkins, Keierre Richards, Terel Hall and Brian Pearson.
 
Hall led the Tigers (8-19, 4-9) with 14 points, three assists and three steals.
 
Savannah State led by three at the half but started the second period with a 9-2 spurt to increase their lead to 35-25 with 17:18 remaining.
 
Cookman closed their gap to seven but a 10-0 run by SSU gave the Tigers their largest lead of the night at 49-32 with 13:07 left.
 
Alante Feener and Jamal Norman each scored nine points for SSU while Pearson and Saadiq Muhammad each had seven rebounds.
 
As a team, the Tigers shot 40.8 percent from the field but only 51.9 percent from the free throw line.
 
Cookman out-rebounded the Tigers 35 to 34.
 
The first half had six ties with no team leading by more than four points.
 
A pair of free throws by Brandon Stewart gave the Wildcats a 22-20 lead with 2:24 left in the first period but SSU closed the half with a 6-1 run to take a 26-23 edge into intermission.
 
Ricky Johnson had 19 points for the Wildcats while Travis Elliott grabbed 11 rebounds.
 
B-CU (10-18, 6-7) shot 34.1 percent from the floor and only made 2 of 11 of their 3-point attempts.
 
TIP INS
Savannah State guard Terel Hall is the only SSU player averaging in double figures this season (10.6 ppg)
Bethune-Cookman's Travis Elliot entered the game averaging five rebounds per game but had 11 against SSU.
 
UP NEXT
SSU will travel to South Carolina State on February 28
B-CU will travel to North Carolina Central on February 28