COLUMBIA, S.C.- Savannah State's rally from a 11-point deficit fell short in their 50-48 loss to Benedict in a game played in HRC Arena on Monday evening.

With just over ten minutes left in the game, Savannah State found themselves trailing 40-29 but responded with a 9-1 spurt. A 3-pointer by Ayjay Plain started the run which was followed by a jumper from Qua King, a layup by Jeremiah Barze and a pair of free throws by King with 6:09 left to bring them within 41-38. Benedict extended their advantage to seven with 4:07 remaining and SSU held Benedict without a field goal during the final four minutes of play.

A jumper by King and a free throw from Javonte Landy cut Savannah State's deficit to 47-43 with 1:25 left and after Benedict hit a pair of free throws to go back up by six, Plain hit a jumper with 21 seconds left to slice SSU's deficit to 49-45.

Following a free throw by Benedict, Barze hit a 3-pointer with one second left for the final points of the game.

King had 15 points and six rebounds for the Tigers while Plain added 11 points. Barze grabbed ten rebounds to go with his five points, three assists and two steals.

In a game that had three ties and four lead changes, a pair of free throws by Michael Swift in the first period gave SSU a 10-9 lead before Benedict responded with a 10-0 run to put them ahead 19-10 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.

A layup by Landy followed by a 3-pointer from Austin Lewis drew SSU to within 19-15 with 3:22 left but Benedict ended the period by outscoring Savannah State 6-3 to take a 25-18 lead into intermission.

Plain started the second half in this battle of the Tigers with a layup and a jumper to get SSU within three and a 3-pointer by King at the 15:51 mark cut Benedict's advantage to 27-25.

Benedict (4-15, 4-9 SIAC) answered with a 13-4 spurt that put Savannah State behind by 11 with 10:11 left.

Despite the setback, the Tigers out-rebounded Benedict 43 to 39 and had more points off turnovers (19 to 12), bench points (14 to 10), points in the paint (26 to 22) and second chance points (11 to 6).

Landy added seven points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, Lewis and Swift scored three points apiece while Jerry Maxinaud and Kasai Fontanez chipped in two points each.

Savannah State (7-8, 5-6 SIAC) will try to bounce back on February 1 at 4 p.m. when they host the Tigers of Edward Waters in Tiger Arena.

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