Savannah, Ga. -- Savannah State University's early two touchdown lead evaporated Saturday night and the offense slowed almost to a halt. It was time to look for a guy who could go. And the Tigers' go-to guy was running back Joseph Hampton.

The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder scooted 28 yards for a touchdown with his first rushing carry of the game, providing the winning margin in a 28-21 victory over Clark Atlanta in the
season's home opener at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.

The Tigers raised their record to 2-1, 1-0 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play while avenging last season's loss to the Panthers.

"Joseph's done a great job for us all year. He found a seam and it was a foot race at that point," SSU coach Aaron Kelton said. "We didn't play well at times but you're always pleased when you win. We just have to keep going from here."

Early in the game, Hampton showed his explosive running abilities with kickoff returns of 34 and 39 yards.

But his touchdown run off a zone read brought the Tigers back from a 21-20 deficit midway through the third quarter.

"I feel if I just get one chance, I can go," Hampton said. "We had (offensive left tackle) Kyle Frazier and all my linemen blocking down and I just broke one."

SSU needed it. The Tigers had just one first down during their final four possessions of the first half and saw a 14-0 lead take a u-turn to a 21-20 deficit.

But the defense pitched a shutout in the second half and Hampton's TD run and Demeke Colbert's two-point conversion on a reverse field scamper were the only points after the band played.

"We had to come out with a different attitude, a different intensity," nose tackle Tony Roundtree Jr. said. "Our defense can stop anybody. I had to give a little more effort. I didn't give enough effort."

Roundtree finished with a team-leading seven tackles, three tackles for losses and batted down a pass.

After surrendering 231 yards of total offense in the first half, SSU's defense allowed just 37 yards the rest of the way.

"I had to jump on them to get back to the basics," Kelton said. "We were really pleased with their performance in the second half. We settled down and started playing our style of football."

And a stingy, ball possession offense helped keep CAU's offense off the field. Both teams only had the ball three times in the second half. The Tigers ran out the clock with a nine-minute, 13-play drive that ended in victory formation.

Victory seemed well within reach early on. Da'Shun Mitchell hauled in a 45-yard pass from quarterback Jadon Adams to the CAU 1 before Adams scored almost untouched for the final yard and a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

After a three-and-out on defense, the Tigers needed only four more plays to make it 14-0 when Adams threw a perfect pass to Brent Carr for a 48-yard TD pass at 9:51 of the first quarter.

Adams finished with 148 yards and a touchdown through the air on 8-of-20 passing and ran 12 times for 70 yards and a score.

But the Panthers (0-3, 0-1 SIAC) were hard to discourage and methodically drove 75 yards on 11 plays. Daquon Kinsey's 2-yard scoring run sliced the advantage in half and Jaelin Hood's 6-yard TD reception tied the game six plays into the second quarter.

A 32-yard kickoff return by Hampton to the CAU 49, set up good field position on the next series. The Tigers failed to pick up a first down, but punter Kenneth Lockhart's 32-yard punt pinned the Panthers down at the 14.

Four plays later, CAU had to punt. A snap sailed over punter Claudio Quintanilla's head and SSU's Hudson Primus pounced on the loose ball for a touchdown to make it 20-14.

The Panthers answered, however, with Banks' 29-yard TD pass to Kinsey, who bounced off tacklers while getting to the endzone standing up and Fernando Lobo's PAT gave Clark Atlanta a one-point lead.

"It was an ugly win, but that was on us. We'll get better," Hampton said.

SSU will be back in action next Saturday (Sept. 23) against Albany State University in the Coastal City Classic in Brunswick. Kickoff is 3 p.m.