SAVANNAH, Ga.- Down by 11 points with seven minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the game, the Savannah State University men's basketball team finished the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match-up with Central State University with runs of 6-0 and 14-0 on their way to a 62-58 win over the Marauders on November 27, 2023 in a game played in Tiger Arena.
 
Trailing 53-42, a layup by Qua King followed by a jumper and a pair of free throws by Ayjay Plain sliced SSU's deficit to 53-48 with 4:45 remaining.
 
After Central State went ahead by seven, following a pair of free throws, the Tigers answered with 14 unanswered points as they turned their deficit into a 62-55 lead with just eight seconds left.
 
During the SSU run, King scored 6 points, Plain had five and Chancellor Wilson knocked down a 3-pointer.
 
Central State added a 3-pointer with one second left but SSU was able to escape with a four-point victory.
 
After starting the season, 0-2, the Tigers have won two in a row and now own a 2-2 record. The win also gave SSU a 1-0 SIAC record.
 
Plain opened the game with a jumper but CSU followed with a 3-pointer. The Tigers answered with a 11-0 run to take a 13-3 lead with 14:45 left in the half.
 
Down 20-15, Central State went on a 8-0 spurt to take the lead 23-20 at the 5:08 mark.
 
With 3:11 showing on the clock, a jumper in the paint by SSU's Aly Keys tied the game at 26 but Central State ended the period with a 5-2 mini-run to take a 31-28 lead into intermission.
 
The crowd of 1,013 saw Savannah State trim the Marauder's lead to 33-30 early in the second period, following a dunk by King, but CSU responded with a 10-3 run to increase their lead to ten with 13:19 left in the game.
 
Down 45-35 at the 12:27 mark, the Tigers received a 3-pointer from Wilson, a layup from King and a free throw by Wilson to get them within 45-41 with 9:44 left.
 
Central State used a 8-1 run as they held SSU without a field goal to grab their biggest lead of the game at 53-42 with 7:15 remaining.
 
The result was Savannah State starting their big run, beginning with King's layup and pulling out the win.
 
Plain finished the contest with a game-high 21 points while King added 20. Plain also had three steals and King grabbed 11 rebounds.
 
Wilson contributed eight points, three blocks and three steals for Savannah State while Jordan Mikel had six points, Austin Lewis had five points and five rebounds and Keys chipped in two points.
 
The Tigers ended the night scoring 30 points off 22 Marauder turnovers and outscoring Central State in the paint 34 to 16.
 
Willie Jackson had 16 points for CSU (1-6, 0-1 SIAC).
 
Savannah State returns to action on December 4 when they travel to Fairfield, Alabama to play Miles College at 8 p.m.