ORANGEBURG,SC—Senior guard/forward Jason Flagler tossed in 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while freshman guard Khalif Toombs chipped in 10, as South Carolina State edge out a close 56-53 win over Erskine College on Friday at S-H-M.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11 point lead, 32-21 off a Jason Flagler jumper at the 4:30 mark in the first-half.  A 3-pointer by Khalif Toombs put SC State ahead 35-23 with a 1:27 left in the second-half.  SC State closed out the half with a 36-26 lead.

A  Jason Flagler jumper at the 8:41 mark gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night 17, 47-30. Erskine went on a 16-4 run to cut the lead to five, 51-46 off a Brandon Wright's 3-pointer with 3:41 left in the game. A Brandon Wright's jumper with 0:08 seconds cut the lead to three, 56-53.

SC State would hold and come away with a 56-53 victory in their season opener at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

South Carolina State will host Allen University on next Thursday in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

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