SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah State men's basketball team had one of the best outings of the season on Thursday, but struggled to finish in the final minutes of regulation and into overtime, dropping a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) match to Spring Hill, 72-81.
 
The Tigers shot 41.5% from the field on Thursday and kept Spring Hill in a deficient through much of the two halves. SSU went into the second half with a 34-33 lead. Marcus Scott opened an 11-0 run for the Tigers with a good 3-pointer. Avery Joyner and Adrian "Rico" Bonds followed Scott with treys of their own and SSU looked well on its way to a big conference win.
 
With seven minutes on the clock, SSU pushed out to a comfortable 15-point lead, 62-47, behind a good fast-break layup from Joseph Boykin—who doubles at Savannah State as a wide receiver for SSU football.
 
However, in the final five minutes, the Badgers came alive with an 18-2 run to not only cut into SSU's big lead, but overtake it. With 1:49 to play Spring Hill led 65-64 for the first time in the second half. Christian Brandt sank a three for the visitors and Amaru Bryant put in a quick layup on a steal and fast break to cut the Badgers lead to 68-66 with 43 seconds to play.
 
With 6 seconds to play, Scott stole the ball and took off to the other end. His layup attempt was blocked. Andrew Okorodudu tried to push it in but it bounced out. Bonds then came soaring in and grabbed Okorodudu's rebound and finished to tie the game at 68 with 2.5 seconds to play.
 
Savannah State, however, struggled in overtime as Spring Hill outscored them 13-4 earning their second conference win of the season. Chase Shellman had an extraordinary night for the visitors, putting up 27 points and grabbing 24 rebounds to lead the entire field. Gresyn Rogers added 25 for the visitors.
 
Bonds, SSU's leading scorer, led the Tigers with 23 points on the night. Okorodudu had one of his better games of the season with seven points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Scott, a freshman, had 14 for the Tigers and Boykin added 10.
 
Savannah State falls to 1-6 on the season and 1-3 in conference play. Spring Hill improved to 2-9 and 1-3. The Tigers return to action this Saturday with an SIAC game against Tuskegee University. Tip-off in Tiger Arena is set for 30 minutes after the women's basketball game at 1 p.m.