STATESBORO, Ga. - Savannah State University shot 59 percent from the floor in the second half and survived a final-minute rally to pull out a 71-67 victory over host Georgia Southern University on Wednesday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The win halted a four-game losing streak for the Tigers (2-4) and was the sixth win in the series between the two neighboring schools (GS leads 16-6). Georgia Southern had its modest two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-4 on the season. The Eagles return to action on Sunday, December 10th, traveling to UCF for a 2 p.m. contest against the Knights.
Georgia Southern held a 31-26 lead at the break, but Savannah State used an 8-1 at the end of the third quarter to take its first lead of the contest, 46-43, on Kaylee Allen's three-pointer with four seconds left in the period. The Tigers and the Eagles traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half until Savannah State went on a 13-4 run to take a 68-59 lead with two minutes left.
With a minute remaining, the Eagles began a furious rally to close the gap to one. Freshman Tatum Barber made a pair of free throws, then stole the inbounds pass and went to the line to make another pair of free throws to cut the lead to five. Barber was then fouled on the blockout of the shooter on the second free throw, and another free throw made it 68-64 with 50 seconds left.
Again, the press form the Eagles forced a turnover, and Rhein Beamon's three-point play with 45 seconds left made it a one-point game, 68-67, with 46 seconds left. Savannah State's Jazmine Bartlett made one of two free throws, but a turnover by the Eagles in the final 20 seconds and subsequent foul allowed the Tigers to clinch the win at the free throw line as Bartlett drained two more tosses with 12 seconds left.
"I'm terribly disappointed in the loss," Head Coach Kip Drown said. "We had no turnovers in the first quarter and had a 10-point lead. We come back and turn it over seven times in the second quarter and let them get back in it. And once they got back in it, it was a game. You've got to tip your hat to them, they hit 12 of 25 from three. In the end, they made plays and we didn't."
In the second half, Savannah State hit 6-of-11 shots from long range included in its 16-of-26 performance from the field in the second half. Overall, the Tigers shot 44.2 percent from the field (23-of-52) while the Eagles hit just 32.1 percent from the field (18-of-56) and made just 7 of 23 three-pointers (30.4 percent).
Individually, four Eagles reached double figures, led by Beamon's 15 points that included a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Barber had a season-high 13 points, while Nakol Franks had 11 points and Hailey Dias-Allen added 10. Savannah State was led by the duo of Donasja Scott and Kaylee Allen, who each had 15 points. Scott added a game-high 11 rebounds for the double-double, while Bartlett finished with 12 points and Jaqueline Anderson notched 10.
