SAVANNAH, Ga.- In a game that was for local bragging rights, Savannah State University came out on top, defeating University of South Carolina Beaufort 80-69 on Tuesday evening inside EnMarket Arena.

The Second Annual River Rivalry, which drew 1,479 fans, saw the Tigers finish the game shooting 51 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Ayjay Plain opened the game with a layup and that was followed by a jumper and two free throws by Qua King and a jumper by Damerius Puttman for a 8-0 lead but the Sand Sharks responded to tie the game at 12 with 11:07 left.

USCB led 21-19 but the Tigers answered with a 12-0 run to take the lead for good at 31-21 with 2:16 on the clock.During the run, Michael Swift made a layup and a free throw, King chipped in a layup and four free throws and Jeremiah Barze drilled a 3-pointer.

The Sand Sharks sliced their deficit to five with 1:32 remaining but SSU finished the opening half with 9-1 spurt that was capped by a 3-point from King with two seconds on the clock to send Savannah State into the half with a 40-29 advantage.

Leading by 14 in the second half, the Tigers used a layup by Swift and two more from Jaydon Cousin to take a commanding 63-43 lead with 11:03 left.

USCB chipped away at Savannah State's lead and was able to get to single digits (71-62) with 2:43 remaining before two free throws from Barze and another by Kasai Fontanez pushed it back to to 74-62 with 1:31 showing.

The Tigers built their advantage back to 78-64 but the Sand Sharks shrunk SSU's 14 point lead to nine with 13 seconds left. A pair of free throws by Barze with three seconds left were the final points of the contest.

Plain and King each scored 17 points for Savannah State while Barze added 15.

Plain also had four rebounds, two assist, one steal and one block while King finished with four rebounds, three assists and a block. Barze added three assists and three steals to compliment his game-high nine rebounds.

Cousin added nine points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds and Swift had seven points and four rebounds. Jerry Maxinaud finished with six points and six rebounds.

Other Tigers denting the scoreboard were Javonte Landy (seven points), Fontanez (three points) and Puttman (two points).

Savannah State won the rebounding battle, 41 to 28.

SSU wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 2-2 record and will start SIAC play on Saturday, November 30 with a trip to Kentucky State.

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