ORANGEBURG, S.C.- Savannah State went the final 2:58 without a field goal but held on to defeat South Carolina State 88-81, in a game played at the S-H-M Memorial Center.

The crowd of 488 saw Troyce Manassa's 3-pointer give SSU a 84-73 lead at the 2:58 mark but the Bulldogs responded with a 6-1 spurt to close their gap to six with 19 seconds on the clock.

A pair of free throws by Dexter McClanahan put Savannah State up 87-79 with ten seconds left but SC State responded with two free throws from Tashombe Riley with four seconds remaining.

Austin Dasent scored the final point of the contest for the six point victory, with two ticks on the game clock.

Manassa anchored the Tigers offense with a game-high 24 points. The senior swingman  hit six of nine of his 3-point attempts and added six rebounds.

Dasent contributed 13 points and four assists, Robert Kelly had 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds while Joshua Floyd chipped in 10 points.

Orangeburg native Isaiah Felder came off the bench and made three 3-pointers in nine minutes of action for the Tigers.

South Carolina State led by five early in the game but the Tigers rallied to tie the game at 16 and then received back to back 3-pointers from Felder for a 22-16 edge with 13:53 left in the half.

A layup by Kelly extended the Savannah State lead to 31-22 with 8:34 left but the Bulldogs rallied and went into intermission down 44-42.

Both squads shot well from the field in the first period with the Bulldogs making 54.8 percent of their shots and SSU connecting on 53.1 percent.

The Tigers built a 58-50 lead with 15:28 left in the game but saw it evaporate to 68-67 with just over eight minutes remaining.

SSU responded with a 16-6 spurt to make the score 84-73 with just under three minutes showing.

Savannah State (6-12, 3-2) ended the game shooting 49.2 percent from the floor, 44.4 percent from3-point range and 76.9 percent from the free throw line.

Eric Eaves had 23 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Bulldogs.

Greg Mortimer, a Savannah native added 10 points for SCSU (4-12, 1-2).

South Carolina State shot 46.9 percent from the field and made 10 of 30 of their 3-point shots. The Bulldogs hit 75 percent of their free throws and out-rebounded SSU 35 to 28.