SAVANNAH, Ga. – Coming off two hard losses to NAIA teams to open the 2019-20 season, Savannah State men's basketball were looking to turn things around with their first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game of the season on Saturday.
 
The Tigers did just that with a dominating performance in Tiger Arena, beating Kentucky State 89-79 to seal up their first victory as a new team and the program's first SIAC win.
 
SSU improves to 1-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference just ahead of a five-game SIAC run. They face Central State in Tiger Arena on Monday at 7:30 p.m. before heading out on the road for a two-game conference run.
 
Four Tigers scored in double-digits on Saturday with newcomer Marcus Scott leading the way with a game-high 21 points. Returner Amaru Bryant put up 18 on the night, followed by Adrian Bonds (17) and Justice Stanley (11).
 
After some back and forth, Kentucky State took a 2-0 lead to open the game, but SSU answered quickly. Bryant drained a 3-pointer and the Tigers were off. Bonds dropped back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup to lift SSU to an 11-7 lead with 16:54 on the clock.
 
Kentucky State fought their way back into it midway through the opening half. Jordan Little put in a layup to give the Thorobreds a 23-22 lead with 9:36 to play.
 
The Tigers responded with an 11-3 run over the following three minutes capped by a 3-pointer from Stanley for a 36-29 lead with 6:00 to play. SSU held control of the game for the final minutes of the half, leading Kentucky State 40-32 into the locker room.
 
Midway through the second half, the Tigers pushed out to a double-digit lead behind a good jump shot from Scott at the 12:54 mark. They would hold on to that big lead for a few minutes going up by as much as 14 points.
 
Kentucky State bounced back into it later, however, cutting SSU's lead to six points, 70-64, with 5:46 to play in the game. Unfazed, the Tigers dropped shots left and right to push out again to double-digit lead.
 
Late in the game, Kentucky State made one last push for the win. Orlando Fikes hit a 3-pointer to cut the Tigers lead to 84-75 with a few seconds to play. Damarri Moore dunked and Jalen Fisher hit a layup, but the effort was short lived as SSU responded with some good free-throw shooting to keep the distance and earn the win.
 
Moore led the visitors with 19 points and 12 rebounds on the night. Fisher added 13, while Bradlee Lewis had 11 and Shaq Athei added 10. The Thorobreds shot 51.7% from the field and 37% from the free-throw line. The Tigers out-rebounded Kentucky State 42-38 and shot 43.8% from the field and 75.8% from the free-throw line.