GREENSBORO, N.C.- Down by eight with 4:39 left, Savannah State used a 12-4 run to tied the game at 61 but fell short in a 63-62 loss to North Carolina A&T.
SSU trailed 61-60 but a pair of free throws by
Troyce Manassa gave the Tigers a one point lead with 20 seconds remaining.
A&T's Sam Hunt went to the free throw line after being fouled by Savannah State's
Brian Pearson with one second left and sank two free throws to put the Aggies back in front.
Kamil Williams 3-point try at the buzzer missed and A&T prevailed, in front of Corbett Sports Center crowd of 1,461.
For the game, the Tigers made 15 of 22 free throw attempts while A&T was 16 of 19.
Savannah State (7-12, 3-5 MEAC) led 8-2 early in the game before A&T scored nine unanswered points to go ahead 11-8 with 11:28 on the clock.
The Tigers responded with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 17-11 advantage with 9:06 left, following a 3-pointer by Chris Martin.
A&T rallied to tie the game at 18 with 6:48 left but a 8-2 spurt by Savannah State gave the visitors a 26-20 lead with 3:47 showing on the game clock.
The Aggies held SSU without a field goal the remainder of the period as they ended the half with a 11-1 run.
North Carolina A&T shot 61.1 percent from the field, made three of six 3-point attempts and converted all six of their free throw attempts in the opening period to take a 31-27 lead into intermission.
Savannah State rallied to tie the game at 33 early in the second period and the contest remained tight for much of the first part of the second half.
The Aggies built a 47-41 lead with 10:20 left but a 7-2 mini-run by SSU made it a 49-48 game with just over eight minutes remaining.
A 8-1 spurt by A&T (6-17, 3-6 MEAC) gave the home team their largest lead of the game at 57-49 with 4:39 remaining.
Williams came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points for the Tigers.
Lenjo Kilo added 17 points while Manassa scored 10. Pearson had a team-high five rebounds.
The Tigers shot 41.3 percent from the field.
A&T, who out-rebounded Savannah State 30 to 23, was led by Ahmad Abdullah's 16 points.
Tip ins:
Savannah State's
Khalen Pinkett celebrated his 20th birthday by dishing out a career-high six assists.....
Kamil Williams made a career-high six 3-pointers.
North Carolina A&T won first first game for interim coach Jay Joyner.....The Aggies snapped a nine game losing streak with the win.
Up next:
SSU will play at Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 2
A&T will play Charlotte on Feb. 3
