ATLANTA, Ga. – Savannah State men's basketball handed Clark Atlanta their second Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) loss of the season with a 72-59 win on Monday.

The Tigers pick up their second consecutive SIAC win after busting a six-game losing streak on Saturday with an 82-77 win over Fort Valley State. Clark Atlanta's 7-2 conference record ties them with Albany State for lead of the SIAC East Division. Savannah State moves into fifth place in the standings with Monday's win.

Savannah State opened Monday's game with a 23-3 run in the first eight minutes—their best start of the 2019-20 season. Clark Atlanta crawled back into the game, cutting SSU's lead to 10 points midway through the first half. But SSU kept them from getting any closer, pushing out to a 39-25 lead at the half.

Midway through the half, the Panthers snuck back into the game, cutting SSU's massive lead to only five points, 56-61, with 5:27 to play. But then the Tigers went to work with an 11-3 run in the final three minutes to secure the win. In that run, Adrian Bonds hit four consecutive free-throws and a 3-pointer while Trey DeLoach and Zion Williams each added field goals.

Bonds currently leads the Tigers in scoring on the season, averaging 19.7 points a game. He had 14 in the win over Clark Atlanta. SSU was led in the statistics by Avery Joyner, who started the year out strong, but had a four-game lull in scoring. Joyner broke his streak, putting up a season-high 17 points on Monday.

Trey DeLoach, who joined the Tiger squad in late December, has been a force to reckon with on offense since donning the blue and orange. He's put up double digits in each of the four games he's played, adding 13 to Monday's win. Andrew Okorodudu, SSU's big man in the paint, pulled down 10 rebounds on the night to lead the field on defense.

The Tigers shot 45.6% from the field, dropping 26-of-57 field goal attempts. They went 77.8% from the free-throw line, hitting 14-of-18. Never afraid to shoot the long ball, SSU scrapped in 6 of their 23 3-point attempts.

Monday's game ended a three-game road streak for the Tigers. They return home this week with two crucial SIAC games against Benedict College (Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.) and Paine College (Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.).