SAVANNAH, Ga.- Billed as the "River Rivalry", the Savannah State University women's and men's basketball teams will face the Sand Sharks of the University of South Carolina-Beaufort on November 21, 2023 in Savannah's EnMarket Arena as part of the Savannah Hoops Invitational.
 
The institutions are 28 miles a part and the Georgia and South Carolina boarders are separated by the Savannah River.
 
Savannah State's Lady Tigers are 1-0 on the season while the Sand Sharks have a 1-2 record.
 
The SSU men are still looking for their first win after a 0-2 start while the USC-Beaufort men are 3-0 and hope to remain undefeated.
 
The women's game tips off at 5:30 p.m. while the men's contest is slated to start at 7:30 p.m.
 
Here are six things you need to know about the women's game:
 
NEW VS. OLD
Savannah State has been playing women's basketball since the late 1920's while USCB is in their inaugural year of competition.
 
300 CLUB
The head coaches of both teams are seasoned veterans who both have over 300 career wins. Savannah State's Cedric Baker is in his 29th year as a head coach and has 398 career wins and needs two more to reach 400. The Columbus, Georgia native has been the head coach at SSU since 2003 and has won 209 games for the Orange & Blue.
 
Sgaron Versyp came out of retirement to lead the Sand Shark program. Her 20-year career record as a head coach stands at 419-259.
 
COMMON OPPONENTS
SSU and USCB have four  common opponents on their schedules: Morris College, Edward Waters, Georgia Southwestern and Columbus State,
 
LOCAL FLAVOR
Both teams have players on the roster from the Georgia Coastal Empire and South Carolina Lowcountry.
 
Area talent on SSU's roster includes Sanai Chisholm (Woodville-Tompkins), Talia Hamilton (Glynn Academy), Jashiyah Jones (Vidalia), Amani Hamilton (Johnson), Ta'Quasia Lampkin (Battery Creek) and K'yla Hankerson (Johnson).
 
Locals on the USCB roster are Janiyah Heyward (Woodville-Tompkins), Taniyah Bowman (Bradwell Institute), Mahkayla Premo (Calvary Day), Kay'Mar Griffin (South Effingham) and Jada Young (Long County).
 
STAT LEADERS
The Lady Tigers are averaging 114 points and game while surrendering 64 points a game. SSU has seven players averaging in double figures. Mya Byrd is averaging 26 points and six rebounds a game while Amari Heard averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nyla Allen leads the squad in steals (5) and assists (8).
 
Premo leads USC-Beaufort with 14.3 points, four steals and three assists a game while Heyward averages 11 points each outing. Shaniya Rose has 30 rebounds on the season. As a team, the Sand Sharks average 57 points a game while giving up 55.7 a night.
 
WHAT COACH BAKER SAID
"USCB gets us prepared for post-tournament play beyond the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament." 
 
Here are six things you need to know about the men's contest:
 
BATTLE IN THE PAINT
Fans can expect a battle in the paint with SSU's Qua King going up against the Sand Sharks 6-foot-9 freshman Marcus Overstreet. King leads the Tigers with 17 points and 5.5 rebounds a game while Overstreet averages 20 points and 12.3 rebounds a night.
 
LOCAL STARS
The game will feature several players from the local area.
 
Tre' Mays (Jenkins) and Javonte Landy (Windsor Forest) are listed on the SSU roster while the USCB roster has Qurahn Anderson (Windsor Forest), AJ Ross (Woodville-Tompkins) and Andrew Helms (Hilton Head Prep).
 
FINANCIAL GUYS
SSU head coach Horace Broadnax and Sand Sharks head coach Ron Fudala both have undergraduate degrees in business. 
 
Broadnax earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Georgetown in 1986 and went on to get his law degree from Florida State College of Law in Tallahassee, Florida in 1991.
 
Fudala graduated from Carnegie Mellon in December 2014 with a bachelor's of science degree in economics and statistics, and he is close to completing his master's of science in business analytics from Santa Clara.
 
STARTING OFF
The first documentation of a men's basketball game at what was then known as Georgia State College (now Savannah State University) was in 1927 while the first basketball game in the history of USC-Beaufort was November 11, 2023. That's a difference of 96 years.
 
OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
Savannah State head coach Horace Broadnax is known for his defenses. The Tigers will need to be on the top of their game against the Sand Sharks who are averaging 119 points a night. USC-Beaufort gives up 83.3 points per game.
 
SSU scores 62 points a game and surrenders 75.5 per contest.
 
WHAT COACH BROADNAX SAID
"Hopefully, we can keep playing them in the future to establish a rivalry."