SAVANNAH, Ga. Savannah State went the final 5:22 without a field goal but still managed to defeat South Carolina State 76-64 in a key Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference match-up.
A jumper by Troyce Manassa gave the Tigers a 67-53 advantage at the 5:22 mark and SCSU never got any closer than 11 the rest of the way. The Tiger Arena crowd of 1,801 saw SSU went into the intermission trailing by one point but started the second half with a 15-4 run to take a 10-point advantage at the 13:24 mark.
A 3-pointer by Ty Soloman got South Carolina State within seven but the Tigers answered with six unanswered points to extend their lead to 61-48 with 7:16 remaining.
SSU maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way.
The contest started out differently as the Bulldogs raced put to a 18-8 lead.
After
Javaris Jenkins made a layup for Savannah State, Ed Stephens nailed a 3-pointer for SCSU to give the visitors from Orangeburg, South Carolina their largest lead of the night at 21-10.
The Tigers used a pair of mini-runs to get back into the contest.
A 11-5 run closed the SSU gap to 26-21 with 6:51 and a 9-7 spurt got the Tigers within two with just over two minutes remaining.
A 3-pointer by
Lenjo Kilo put the Tigers ahead 35-34 with 1:38 on the clock but a layup by the Bulldogs Gabriel McCrray just 20 seconds later sent SCSU into the half with a 36-35 advantage.
Manassa powered the Tigers to victory with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. The Mobile, Alabama native was 10 for 10 from the free throw line.
Kilo added 13 points and 3 steals while Brain Pearson and
Khalen Pinkett chipped in 10 points apiece.
SSU shot 54.4 % from the field in the second half and 46.9 percent for the game. The Tigers had 21 points off of 19 SCSU turnovers.
McCray led South Carolina State with 16 points.
The Bulldogs shot 56.5 percent from the floor in the first period and 48.8 percent for the game. SCSU won the rebounding battle 26 to 24.
Tip ins:
SSU has won six games in a row.....The Tigers have beaten SCSU 10 times in their last 11 meetings.
SCSU's leading scorer Eric Eaves was held to eight points.....The trip to Savannah marked the return of Greg Mortimer, a Savannah native and Francis Simmons, a former assistant coach at SSU.
Up next:
SSU will play at North Carolina Central on Feb. 29
SCSU will host Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 2
