SAVANNAH, Ga.- Down by two points with two minutes left in the game, Savannah State received two big baskets from Jordan Mikell to lift the Tigers to a 81-79 win over Kentucky State in the opening round of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon in a game played at Tiger Arena.

With the game tied at 77, two free throws by KSU gave the Thorobreds a 79-77 lead with 2:04 left in the second half.

SSU answered with 38 seconds left with Mikell making a layup to tie the game at 79 and following several missed layups and tip in opportunities by Kentucky State, Zion Davis grabbed the rebound for the Tigers.

After a missed layup by Chancellor Wilson, Mikell grabbed the rebound and tipped it back in the basket with 4.3 seconds on the clock for a 81-79 lead.

KSU tried a 3-pointer at the end but it missed and the Tigers won the game.

The game had seven ties and seven lead changes.

Kentucky State opened the game with the first five points and raced out to a 10-1 lead.

The Tigers didn't make their first field goal until Javonte Landy hit a 3-pointer with 16:03 showing on the clock.

SSU's deficit grew to 29-18 but the Tigers were able to slice Kentucky State's lead to three late in the half.

The Thorobreds took a 42-36 lead into the half.

Savannah State came out strong to start the second period and took a 45-44 lead 18:15 left.

From that point on, the game remained close, although Savannah State was able to take a 60-55 lead with 12:41remaining.

While Mikell provided the late game heroics for Savannah State, it was Zyere Edwards that kept the Tigers in the game.

Each time KSU would try to get some separation from the Tigers, Edwards would have an answer. On multiple occasions, Edwards would hit a 3-pointer which kept the game close.

KSU led 75-71 but a 3-pointer by Edwards drew the Tigers to within one and with Savannah State down 77-74, a Edwards 3-pointer tied the contest with 3:06 left.

Edwards finished the game with 31 points off the bench, making seven 3-pointers.

Landy added 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Brandon Johnson grabbed ten rebounds.

Wilson scored nine points and Mikell added eight and six rebounds. Zion Davis and Kelvin Cochran scored six points each and James Leach chipped in three points, five rebounds and four blocks. Michael Swift added three steals.

The win improves Savannah State to 16-11 overall as they will face Miles, the No. 2 seed in the SIAC West, on March 5 at 8 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the SIAC Tournament at the Clayton County Convention Center in Morrow, Georgia.

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