SAVANNAH, Ga. – Despite a late run, Savannah State men's basketball dropped their second game of the season, 85-90, to Carver College on Saturday in Tiger Arena.
 
The Tigers fall to 0-2 on the season after a 91-93 loss to Coastal Georgia last week. They return to the court on Nov. 30 against Kentucky State to open Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) action.
 
The Cougars came in strong on Saturday. Rayford Washington book ended a 12-0 run for the visitors with two 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the game.
 
A stunned Savannah State team struggled to answer, missing six consecutive 3-point attempts to open the game. At the 15:26 mark, Marcus Scott finally put away the Tigers' first points of the game on a good 3-pointer.
 
With some momentum, the Tigers began to cut into Carver's lead. SSU opened an 8-0 run that was capped off with a good jumper from Avery Joyner to tie the game up at 18 with 10:22 to play.
 
At the 2:10 mark, Carver took a one-point lead behind a layup from Antonio Gardner. Scott answered with a layup of his own. But Carver was unfazed in the final minute as Washington drained yet another 3-pointer and Terrence Boykin dunked for a 4-point lead.
 
Adrian Bonds drilled a 3-pointer for SSU with 7 seconds to play, cutting Carver's lead to 39-38 into the locker room.
 
The second half was similar to the first, as Carver opened with a big run for an 11-point lead in the first five minutes. They would go on to take an 18-point lead midway through the half.
 
With under a minute to play, newcomer Zion Williams went up in the paint, dropped the shot and drew the foul. Williams sank the and-1 to cut Carver's lead to 85-82. It was the closest SSU came to taking control in the second half.
 
Both teams hit the double bonus and free-throws abounded in the final 40 seconds of action. Washington drained a free-throw with 4 seconds to play for an 8-point lead for the visitors.
 
Scott scored the final points of the game with a good 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
 
Washington led the entire field with 35 points on the night. Four Cougars finished in double figures. Jessy Haynes had the only double-double of the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Adrian Bonds led the Tigers with 28 points, followed by Scott who had 19. Joyner put up 12 while Williams finished with 11 points for the Tigers. SSU shot 40.5% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc.
 
Carver shot 49.2% from the field and 43% from the 3-point line. They out-rebounded SSU 48-39, and racked up 24 fouls, including two technical to SSU's 22.