SAVANNAH, Ga. – In the opening of the 2019-20 season, Savannah State men's basketball clawed their way back into a game they spent most of trailing but were unable to finish, falling 91-93 to College of Coastal Georgia.

At one point in the opening half, the Tigers trailed the Mariners 6-25. They slowly worked themselves back into the game late in the half, cutting the visitors lead to 28-38 with a minute to play. At the half, SSU was down 34-40.

Coastal Georgia maintained a lead through most of the second half. With 3:08 on the clock, the Tigers opened an 8-0 run to cut the Mariners lead to 84-83 with 1:42 to play. Following a good layup from Coastal Georgia, SSU senior Amaru Bryant dropped in a 3-pointer with 55 seconds on the clock to tie the game up at 86.

On the ensuing possession, Austin Dukes responded in kind with his own 3-pointer. It was the closest Savannah State came in the entire game to taking the lead. After three free-throw shots, Coastal Georgia pushed out to a 92-86 lead with 8 seconds to play.

Avery Joyner hit a 3-pointer to cut that lead and Bryant added a last-minute layup, but it wasn't enough as time expired and the Tigers recorded the single-possession loss.

Bryant led the Tigers with 21 points, followed by Adrian Bonds who put up 19. Newcomer Zion Williams recorded 14 and Daryl Richardson had 12. Dukes led the Mariners with 26 points on the night. Jaylan Patrick put up 15, while Devonta Leslie and Jordon Parks each had 11.

Both teams shot below 50% from the field. SSU shot 37.8% and 28% from beyond the arc. The Mariners outrebounded SSU 53-42 and had more turnovers with 27 to the Tigers 17.