GREENSBORO, N.C.- The first half between Savannah State and North Carolina A&T was close but the Aggies pulled away in the second half as they stayed unbeaten with a 36-17 win over the Tigers.
The loss ended SSU's two game win streak as they fell to 2-8 overall and 2-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
A crowd of 9,397 filled into Aggie Stadium to see the teams play for only the third time.
Savannah State could not get their offense in gear in the first half, gaining just 100 yards. The Tigers passing game was a little better in the second half but the running game was limited to just 69 yards. SSU finished the contest with 261 yards of offense.
A&T, who entered the game ranked seventh in the latest FCS poll, had 251 of their 443 offensive yards in the second half.Â
Savannah State kick returner Jamichael Baldwin fumbled the opening kickoff and A&T's Markeiss Blue recovered the ball at the Tiger 30.
It took the Aggies two plays to score as Marquell Cartwright scored on a one yard run with 14:16 on the clock. Noel Ruiz made the extra point and A&T led 7-0.
The Aggies went ahead 10-0 early in the second quarter when Ruiz kicked a 25 yard field goal.
SSU answered on their next possession. The Tigers started the drive at their own 28 and marched to the A&T five yard line. When the drive stalled, Giovanni came in a kicked a 30 yard field goal, with 9:20 showing. The key play on the possession was a 42 yard pass completion from D'Vonn Gibbons to
Cameron White.
With 41 seconds left in the second quarter, Ruiz kicked a 30 yard field goal to send the Aggies into the half with a 13-3 lead.
North Carolina A&T scored a touchdown on their first possession of the third quarter to extend their lead to 19-3. The extra point kick was no good.
Savannah State answered on their next possession by driving 79 yards in four plays to pull within 19-10 when Gibbons scored on a two yard run with 11:39 remaining in the quarter.
Jaylen McCloud had a 16 yard run on the possession and tight end
Paris Baker had a 60 yard reception.
The Tigers defense stopped A&T on their next drive but gave the ball right back when Jeremy Taylor intercepted a Gibbons pass at the SSU 31 and returned it 22 yards to the Savannah State nine.
Taylor's interception set up a one yard touchdown run by Cartwright with 8:28 left in the quarter to give the Aggies a 26-10 lead.
Gibbons had another pass intercepted on SSU's next possession but A&T could not take advantage of the turnover.
A&T scored on their first two drives of the fourth quarter, getting a 32 yard field goal from Ruiz with 12:49 showing and an 18 yard touchdown reception by Elijah Bell with 3:31 left for a 36-10 advantage.
The final score of the game came with six seconds remaining when Gibbons tossed a 13 yard touchdown to McCloud, to cap an eight play, 64 yard drive.  Gibbons had runs of 13 and 12 yards on the possession and also threw a 10 yard pass to
Derek Kirkland.
Donald Rutledge led the Savannah State defense with a dozen tackles while freshman linebacker Mekhi Cooper had eight. Gibbons threw for 137 yards while running for 93. Kirkland had two receptions for SSU for 16 yards.
Cartwright led A&T with 127 yards on the ground while Lamar Raynard threw for 252 yards. Bell caught five balls for 77 yards while Taylor and Deion Jones had seven tackles each.
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