FRANKFORT, Ky. — A late surge by
Savannah State helped the Tigers survive a scare from
Kentucky State in a 59-56 win over the Thorobreds on Saturday afternoon at the William Exum HPER Center.
The Tigers secured their third consecutive victory, improving to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the SIAC.
With the score tied at 52 with 3:43 remaining, Savannah State scored the next seven points to get some breathing room.
A free throw by
Ayjay Plain jump-started the run. Following Plain's free throw,
Javonte Landy made a layup and
Qua King hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a 59-52 cushion with 17 seconds left.
Kentucky State scored the final four points of the game but the Tigers had already sealed the win.
Savannah State opened the game by scoring the first five points, with Plain hitting a jumper and King adding a 3-pointer.
Kentucky State rallied to take a 13-8 lead, but a 13-2 rally gave Savannah State a 21-15 edge at the 5:41 mark.
The Thorobreds outscored the Tigers 11-7 the remainder of the period, but Savannah State took a slim 28-26 lead into halftime.
The game remained close early in the second half.
Ahead 41-39 with 11:24 left, back-to-back layups by
Jaydon Cousin, along with a layup and a free throw by King gave Savannah State a nine point lead with 9:35 showing on the clock.
Kentucky State chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the game at 52 with under four minutes remaining.
King led the Tigers with 17 points and five rebounds while Cousin contributed 14 points and five rebounds off the bench. Plain recorded eight points and six steals, and Landy added seven points and five steals.
Kasai Fontanez also had seven points,
Jerry Maxinaud finished with nine rebounds and five points and
Jeremiah Barze chipped in one point.
Savannah State scored 32 points off 25 Kentucky State turnovers, received 28 points from their bench and scored 30 points in the paint.
The Tigers ended the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field.
Savannah State will attempt to run their winning streak to four games on Monday when they take on Central State in Wilberforce, Ohio.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.