SAVANNAH, Ga.- The Savannah State men's basketball team lost their final exhibition game of the preseason against visiting Fort Valley State, 103-89.
 
The Tiger Arena crowd of 1,890 saw the Wildcats, coached by former Savannah State head coach Sammy Jackson, take a 43-38 lead into intermission.

Jaylon McMillian opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a layup for the Wildcats but SSU countered with back to back layups from Ty'lik Evans and Austin Dasent to cut their deficit to six.

A trio of 3-pointers by McMillian increased FVSU's lead to 59-46 with 17:02 left but a 3-pointer and a layup by Juwan Grant pulled the Tigers within eight.

Another 3-pointer by McMillian with 15:29 left gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the night at 67-51.

Following a media timeout, SSU responded with a 15-2 run that made the score 69-66 with 10:16 on the clock.

During the Tigers run, SSU received six points from Evans, four points from Grant, a 3-pointer from Jahir Cabeza and two free throws from Jahlin Smith.

Savannah State trailed 78-75 with 7:05 remaining but FVSU strung together a 14-4 run that gave the visitors a 92-79 cushion with 2:50 on the clock.

The Wildcats maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way.

Grant came off the bench to lead Savannah State with 17 points and six rebounds. Dexter McClanahan added 16 points and seven rebounds while Evans contributed 14 points and three steals.

The Tigers had a tough night on the court, shooting 31.9 percent from the floor and making just eight of their 53 3-point attempts while shooting 51 percent from the free throw line.

McMillian only had four points at halftime but ended the contest with a game-high 35 points for the Wildcats. He made eight 3-pointers.Walter Foster added 13 points and 19 rebounds while Tyler Edwards chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds. Jamaal Garror scored 11 points.

FVSU made 29 turnovers but out-rebounded Savannah State 66 to 59.

The Wildcats shot 43 percent from the field, ma35.7 percent of their 3-pointers and shot 74.1 percent from the free throw line.