Savannah State University Athletics

SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State broke open a close game with a big run down the stretch as they opened their three-game home-stand with a 75-65 win over Kentucky State, in a game played in Tiger Arena on December 9, 2023.
 
Ahead 50-46 with 9:15 remaining in the game, the Tigers strung together a 13-2 run that ended with Qua King hitting a jumper with 5:44 showing to give SSU their largest lead of the afternoon at 63-48.
 
Kentucky State was able to trim their deficit to 65-56 with 3:26 left but SSU countered with a layup and free throw by Jordan Mikel and two free throws from Michael Swift to extend their lead to 14 with 2:40 remaining.
 
The remaining points from Savannah State came from the free throw line with Mikel hitting one, Ayjay Plain knocking down two and King scoring the final Tiger points with a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left for a 75-62 cushion. KSU's Lavar Miller buried a 3-pointer for the visitors with 26 seconds left for the last points of the game.
 
Savannah State raced out to a 11-4 lead in the contest with five different players scoring. Mikel and Plain made layups, King and Chancellor Wilson hit jumpers and Swift nailed a 3-pointer.
 
The Thorobreds cut their deficit to five but Savannah State responded with a 6-0 mini-run with Swift making two free throws followed by a layup by Mikel and two free throws by King to put them ahead by a dozen, 20-8 with 10:03 left in the opening half.
 
Using a 12-4 spurt, KSU was able to whittle the Tigers lead down to 24-20 at the 4:23 mark but seven unanswered points by Savannah State gave the Orange and Blue a 31-20 cushion with 2:43 showing on the clock.
 
SSU finished the rest of the half with only two points, a jumper by Juan Gordon with 36 seconds left, as Kentucky State drew within six (33-27) to end the half.
 
The Tigers began the second period with a layup and a jumper by King to push their lead back to double digits, 37-27.
 
Kentucky State trailed by three with just under 13 minutes remaining before back-to-back jumpers by Plain and Aumauri Tillman gave the Tigers some breathing room at 46-39 with 11:29 remaining.
 
King led four Savannah State players in double figures with a game-high 25 points. He also had eight rebounds and three assists.
 
Plain had 14 points and nine assists, Swift scored a season-high 13 points to go with his season-high four steals while Mikel chipped in ten points.
 
Wilson scored eight points while Tillman and Gordon had two apiece and Austin Lewis scored one.
 
After shooting 35.5 percent from the floor in the first period, the Tigers made 15 of 24 shots (62.5 percent) in the second half. SSU struggled from beyond the arch, making just one shot in seven attempts.
 
Savannah State scored 28 points off of 20 Thorobred turnovers and outscored KSU in the paint, 38 to 24.
 
Kentucky State falls to 2-4 overall and remains winless in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 0-3 record.
 
Khalif Crawley, a 6-foot-8 forward, had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Thorobreds.
 
The win evens Savannah State's record at 3-3 while they improve to 2-1 in conference play.
 
SSU returns to Tiger Arena on Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. for a SIAC tilt with Tuskegee.