SAVANNAH, Ga.-
Javaris Jenkins scored a season-high 20 points as Savannah State dropped a 108-85 non-conference match-up to William and Mary, in a game played in Tiger Arena.
It was the Tigers final home game of the 2017 portion of the season. Savannah State (3-7) played the game without starting forward Jahlin Smith and reserve swing man Jahir Cabeza, because of injuries.
Jenkins made 7 of 12 shots from the field and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.
William and Mary, who won their first road game of the season, led from start to finish. The Tribe scored the first five points of the contest and led 17-9 at the 13:41 mark.
SSU trimmed their deficit to three with 11:21 remaining thanks to a 3-pointer and a jumper from Alante Fenner and a 3-pointer by Ty'Lik Evans.
W&M responded with back to back dunks by Nathan Knight and another dunk by Justin Pierce to extend their lead to 26-17 at the ten minute mark.
The Tigers found themselves down by six with 8:50 on the clock but a 12-2 run by William and Mary saw the SSU deficit swell to 40-24.
SSU battled back with back to back 3-pointers by Jenkins to close their gap to 48-39 with 2:13 left but William and Mary ended the period with a 12-7 spurt and took a 54-42 edge into intermission.
The Tribe scored two quick baskets to open the second half and push their lead to 58-42 but 3-pointers by Fenner, Austin Dasent and
Dexter McClanahan whittled the Savannah State deficit to nine with 16:55 left.
Eight straight points by W&M put them ahead 68-51 with 14:50 remaining but a pair of free throws by Ralueke Orizu, a layup by Marcus Glenn and a 3-pointer by Evans fueled a 7-2 SSU spurt to close their gap to 12.
The Tribe (5-2) responded with a 19-5 run that put them ahead by 26 with 7:48 showing.
A 3-pointer by Sellers kick started a 10-2 run by Savannah State that got them as close as 93-75 with 5:17 left in the game. They would get no closer the rest of the way.
Fenner had 17 points and a game-high four assists for the Tigers. Sellers had 14 points and seven assists while Dasent added 11 points. Evans, a 5-foot-7 Â guard had a team-high five rebounds to go with his eight points.
Savannah State shot 36.6 percent from the floor and made a season-high 16 3-pointers.
William and Mary out-rebounded the Tigers 52 to 29 but made 22 turnovers.
Conner Burchfield led W&M with a game-high 27 points.
The Tribe shot 63.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from long range and 84.2 percent from the free throw line.
