SAVANNAH, Ga..- Casey Wells wrote his name into the Savannah State record books with a school best nine 3-pointers in the Tigers 118-101 win over Fort Valley State, in a game played at Tiger Arena.

The senior from Atlanta, Georgia made nine of his 13 attempts from beyond the arch to finish with a game-high and career-high 27 points.

Wells' performance came two days after he tied the school record with eight 3-pointers and a career-high 24 point effort against Memphis.

It was the first time the former Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference members had met in a regular season game since the 2000-01 season.

The 118 points scored by SSU were the most since the 1972-73 season when the Tigers defeated Bethune-Cookman 124-66 and Fort Valley State 145-82.

The game was also a homecoming for FVSU coach Sammy Jackson, who served as the Tigers head coach during the 1999-2000  season.

In the first period with the game tied at nine, the Tigers received two 3-pointers apiece from Wells and Dexter McClanahan and one from Isaiah Felder to grab a 27-20 lead with 12:37 on the clock.

Savannah State (2-3) would lead by as many as 12 points in the first half but the Wildcats would close their gap to 51-46 with seven unanswered points with 2:02 left after a 3-pointer by Jaylon McMillian.

SSU led 58-51 at intermission.

Early in the second half, a 3-pointer by Troyce Manassa and a layup by McClanahan gave the Tigers a 11-point cushion and with just under nine minutes remaining the SSU lead stood at 90-75.

A free throw by JR Bryant would get FVSU as close as 95-84 with 5:07 left but a 13-5 spurt would give Savannah State its biggest lead of the evening at 113-89 with 2:03 to go.

McClanahan added 18 points and five rebounds for the Tigers while Austin Dasent had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Manassa had 14 points and six assists, Zach Seller added 11 points and six assists and Jahir Cabeza contributed 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, four blocks and two steals. Jordan Gaines also had 10 points.

The Tigers shot 54.1 percent from the field and made 51.1 percent of their 3-point attempts but were cool from the free throw line, making only 65.2 percent.

McMillian had 23 points for the Wildcats (1-3) while Denard Williams had 10 points and a game high 11 rebounds.

FVSU shot 39.8 percent from the field, made 35.9 percent of their 3-pointers and shot 70.8 percent from the free throw line.

The crowd of 1,344 saw the Wildcats out-rebound SSU 49 to 45.

The game had three ties and four lead changes.