ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Savannah State's leading scorer Adrian Barns put away 25 points on Friday as the Tigers dropped a non-conference road game to Claflin University, 67-94.
 
Savannah State and Claflin were neck and neck in the opening eight minutes of Friday's game. Bonds sank two good free-throws to cut Claflin to a 17-16 lead with 12:40 to play.
 
Then the home team opened an 18-0 run over a 4-minute span to take a 19-point lead, 35-16, with 8:19 to play.  The Tigers never got closer than 19 points of Claflin's lead for the rest of the game.
 
Bonds 25 points was his second highest of the season, after a career-high 28 against Carver College earlier this season. Marcus Scott—who was named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday— added 15 for the Tigers. SSU shot a disappointing 34.9% from the field and 29% from beyond the 3-point line.
 
Five players led Claflin with double figures. Out front, Letrell West put in 26, followed by Brandon Davis (14), Rodney Prichard (13), Nkem Ojeh (10) and Romero Hill (10). Claflin shot 55.7% from the field, dropping 34-of-61 attempts and 66.7% from beyond the arc.
 
Friday's game opened a three-game road swing for the Tigers and was their final non-conference game of 2019.
 
The Tigers play five SIAC games to close out the year. They face LeMoyne-Owen College on Dec. 14 in Memphis, Tennessee and Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama on Dec. 16 before returning home on Dec. 19 to face Spring Hill College. They host Tuskegee University on Dec. 21 in Tiger Arena.