DURHAM, N.C.- Savannah State led North Carolina Central at the half but could not maintain their lead in a 78-69 loss to the Eagles.
The setback drops Savannah State to 10-17 overall and 7-6 in conference play.
The first half featured six lead changes. NCCU's biggest lead was 15-9 with 10:48 left in the period.
Savannah State was ahead 25-22 after a jumper by
Tyrell Harper with 1:01 left but the Eagles' Larry McKnight made a layup to make the score 25-24 with 46 seconds left.
A tip-in by
Jaquan Dotson with 19 seconds showing gave the Tigers a 27-24 advantage. They took that same score into the locker room at the break.
A jumper by Harper would give SSU a four-point lead early in the second half.
The Tigers led 36-35 with 15:40 showing but a Jibri Blount jumper would give NCCU the lead for good eight seconds later.
Savannah State would trail 53-50 but a 13-4 run by the Eagles would dig a 12 point hole for SSU with just over two minutes remaining.
A pair of free throws by Blount with 1:01 showing would give the Eagles their largest lead of the evening at 71-58.
SSU would hold North Carolina Central without a field goal the final two minutes of the contest but the Eagles would do their damage at the free throw line, making 12 of 13 shots down the stretch.
The crowd of 1,412 in McDougald-McLendon Arena saw Dotson score 20 points and grab seven rebounds for Savannah State.
The Tigers shot 43.8 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from beyond the arc and 57.1 percent from the free throw line.
Randy Miller had 24 points for NCCU (14-14, 9-5 MEAC) while Raasean Davis added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Eagles, who won the rebounding battle, 40 to 37, shot 40.3 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from beyond the arc and 81.5 percent from the charity stripe.
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*Â Zach Sellers extended his streak of scoring at least two points in a game to 58 games
* All nine SSU players that saw action scored at least two points and had at least one rebound
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* SSU went 4 of 7 from the free throw line while NCCU made 22 of 27 shots
* The Tigers have made 308 of their 3-point attempts this season
* John Grant scored eight points in nine minutes of playing time