SAVANNAH, Ga.- Ayjay Plain came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points but Savannah State would lose to Allen 68-65 in a game that went into overtime on February 5, 2024 in Tiger Arena.
 
When Allen defeated SSU 49-47 in Columbia, South Carolina on January 29, Plain was held to six points and made four turnovers. This time the junior guard only committed one turnover in his 35 minutes of action and knocked down four 3-pointers.
 
The Tigers found themselves down eight with 15:27 left to go in the second period when they strung together a 17-5 run to go ahead 53-49 with just under six minutes remaining.
 
The contest also had second half ties of 53, 56 and 59.
 
Allen led 59-56 with two minutes remaining but a layup by Zion Davis cut SSU's deficit to one with 1:22 showing on the clock.
 
Following a steal by Chancellor Wilson, Plain attempted a 3-point shot but was fouled on the play. Plain hit all three free throw attempts with 26 seconds left to give the Tigers a 61-59 lead.
 
With seven seconds left, Talton Jones missed a jumper for the Yellow Jackets but teammate G'Shan Aldridge grabbed the rebound and made a layup with four seconds let to tie the score at 61.
 
Savannah State's Javonte Landy missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the game was forced into an extra five minutes of action.
 
In the overtime period, Allen made three free throws to go ahead 64-61.
 
A free throw by Landy with 2:01 on the clock drew SSU within 64-62 but Allen hit two more free throws with 1:36 remaining to increase their lead to 66-62.
 
With 50 seconds left, Plain drilled a 3-pointer to close Savannah State's gap to 66-65. The Yellow Jackets added a free throw with 33 seconds left and another one with two seconds remaining for a three point advantage.
 
Davis attempted a 3-pointer for SSU with one second left but it missed.
 
Austin Lewis had the hot hand for the Tigers early in the game. Lewis opened the contest with a jumper which was followed by a 3-pointer to give SSU a 5-0 lead.
 
Savannah State built a 10-2 cushion but the Yellow Jackets battled back to take a 15-14 lead with 10:46  showing on the clock.
 
Allen put together another rally which gave them a 23-16 edge with 7:11 left.
 
Trailing by five with 2:50 remaining, SSU closed the half with Qua King scoring six points off of a layup, two free throws and a jumper to send the Tigers into the half with a 32-31 lead.
 
A layup by Jordan Mikel and a jumper by Chancellor Wilson put Savannah State ahead by five early in the second half before Allen answered with a 13-0 run to take a 44-36 lead at the 15:27 mark.
 
King was the only other Tiger player in double figures with 14 points.
 
Landy ended the night with nine points and five assists. Davis also had nine points and seven rebounds.
 
To round out the SSU scoring, Wilson had six points while Austin and Mikel scored five points each.
 
In a game with eight ties and nine lead changes, SSU scored 30 points off 27 Allen turnovers. The Tigers had 15 second chance points while the reserve players produced 40 points.
 
Allen (12-10, 8-7 SIAC) was led by Austin James' 21 points.
 
Savannah State falls to 9-11 overall and 8-9 in the SIAC with the loss.
 
The Tigers will hit the road for a two-game trip to Atlanta, Georgia against Clark Atlanta (February 10) and Morehouse (February 12).