SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State quarterback D'Vonn Gibbons threw for 219 yards and ran for 57 yards and a touchdown, but the Tigers could not overcome 119 yards in penalties en route to an 18-11 loss to Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Saturday night.

A crowd of 2,655 at T.A. Wright Stadium watched as SSU (1-5, 0-3 MEAC) committed nine penalties for 119 yards. The Tigers were attempting to win their second consecutive game after beating Charleston Southern, 23-3, on Oct. 6 at T.A. Wright Stadium.

"We played with great emotion in the Charleston Southern game, and you have to do that, but you have to control your emotions," SSU third-year head coach Erik Raeburn said.  "They can't control you. Tonight, they controlled us. That was disappointing."

Morgan State (2-4, 1-1) staked a 3-0 lead thanks to Alex Raya's 24-yard field goal with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter. Raya's kick capped an 11-play, 46-yard drive that took 6:39 to complete.

SSU's Gibbons connected with James Kicklighter for a 45-yard completion to Morgan State's 27-yard line. Gibbons then ran for a 1-yard loss, threw an incomplete pass and was sacked for a 3-yard loss. Giovanni Lugo's 48-yard field goal attempt missed wide right with 5:14 remaining in the first quarter.

With 2:57 left in the second quarter, Morgan State quarterback DeAndre Harris connected with wide receiver Xavier Gravette for a 48-yard touchdown. Adeola Sulaiman caught a pass from Dion Golatt for a two-point conversion to make it 11-0.

SSU cut the score to 11-3 on Lugo's 38-yard field goal with 36 seconds left before halftime. Lugo's kick capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive.

The Tigers successfully attempted an on-side kick, which was recovered by SSU's Antonio Spooney at the Bears' 33-yard line. Six plays later, Lugo attempted a 25-yard field goal as time expired but he missed wide to the left.

"I thought D'Vonn played really well in the first half so we decided to go with him the rest of the way," Raeburn said of Gibbons, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore from Stone Mountain who had been rotating at quarterback with sophomore T.J. Bell.

Early in the third quarter, SSU's Gibbons connected with Treveyon Pratt for an acrobatic 38-yard gain. Seven plays later, Gibbons ran right, changed direction and scrambled to his left before diving and hitting the end zone pylon for a 9-yard touchdown. Gibbons connected with Czar Beneby for a two-point conversion, tying the game at 11. SSU's eight-play drive covered 75 yards and took 4:05 to complete.

"It was pretty good to play the whole second half for once this season. It was pretty interesting," said Gibbons, who finished 15-of-27 passing for 219 yards and an interception. He was sacked five times. Gibbons ran 20 times for 57 yards and a touchdown.

SSU's Kicklighter finished with five catches for a game-high 77 yards. Pratt made four catches for 68 yards.

"That's just me and my teammates connecting," Gibbons said. "(Morgan State) didn't do anything that surprised us. We knew how they were coming. They didn't try to disguise anything. We had our plays lined up for their defense but we couldn't execute some of them. That's alright. We'll bounce back."

On third-and-8 from the 50-yard line, SSU defensive back D'Armani Ridley made a tremendous hit on Morgan State wide receiver Corey Holmes, resulting in an incompletion. But an official threw a flag and Ridley was penalized 15 yards for taunting after the play, giving Morgan State a first down at SSU's 35-yard line. Five plays later, Morgan State's William King fumbled the ball into the end zone and Holmes recovered for touchdown. Raya kicked the extra point, putting the Bears up 18-11 with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter.

"We were maybe too excited about this game," Gibbons said. "You have to be smart when you're playing. You have to keep yourself calm. We just couldn't do that today and you see what happened."

In the fourth quarter, SSU's Gibbons connected with JaMichael Baldwin for a 38-yard gain to Morgan State's 20-yard line. Four plays later, Lugo attempted a 36-yard field goal but it was blocked by the Bears' Antoine McCray with 12:18 to play in the game.

"We made a million mistakes; too many penalties to win," Raeburn said. "We got to play better. I thought we gave the game away."

SSU free safety Donald Rutledge intercepted Harris' pass with 9:27 to play in the game and returned it to the Tigers' 27-yard line. SSU's drive ended with a 10-yard punt by Lugo to the 50-yard line.

The teams then combined for three consecutive drives that ended via punts, two by Morgan State. SSU got the ball back for its final drive with 1:11 to play. Gibbons connected with D'Andre Snead for an 11-yard gain and later found Paris Baker for a 9-yard gain. But the Tigers' drive ended when Morgan State's Ian McBorrough sacked Gibbons for a 6-yard loss and caused a fumble, which Morgan State's Taylor Thompson recovered at the Tigers' 43-yard line with 16 seconds to play.
Defensively, SSU's Mulik Simmons made a game-high 14 tackles. Walter Yates made 10 tackles.

"It's very frustrating," Simmons said. "A lot of penalties. We've got to clean it up. Can't dwell in the past. We have to get better during this bye week and then take care of Homecoming."

SSU has a bye Oct. 20. The Tigers will play Homecoming opponent Norfolk State (3-2, 1-1 MEAC) at 3 p.m. Oct. 27 at T.A Wright Stadium.