Final Box
Play-by-Play
ORANGEBURG, SC—Senior forward Darnell Porter tossed in a game-high 23 points in front of a home crowd, on “Senior Day” to lead SC State to a 71-57 victory over conference rival N.C. A&T State Saturday.

        North Carolina A&T was led by Marc Hill with a team-high 20 points, while Nic Simpson chipped in 10 in the loss. SC State improved to 7-19 overall, 3-10 in the MEAC, while N.C. A&T falls to 12-15 overall, 7-6 in the league.

      “I thought our guys played really great today and responded well to their press,” said SC State head coach Tim Carter. “It was a good win for our team and especially the seniors playing in front of their family and friends.”

       SC State jumped out to a quick 11-0 advantage off a jumper by Darnell Porter at the 15:19 mark. Porter nailed one of his five 3-pointers with 7:06 left in the first-half to give the Bulldogs a 27-16 lead. Marc Hill's 3-pointer cut the SC State lead to five, 27-22 with 6:04 left.

       South Carolina State led 33-28 at half-time over the Aggies. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Aggies 22-15 at the half, along with a season low turnover with just three at the midway point.

       Carter stated, “I was really pleased that we had three turnovers going into the second-half. When you play smart basketball it gives you a chance to win.”

      Junior forward Omar Sanders open up the second-half with a monster dunk to extend the Bulldogs lead to seven, 35-28 at the 19:40 mark. Senior forward/center Rio Pitt built the momentum on a fast break power dunk to put SC State up 19, 56-37 with 12:22 left in regulation.

      Hill tossed in jumper with a little under 9:02 left to cut the Bulldog lead to 12, 58-46. Senior guard Tyvon Williams nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to boost the lead to 19, 68-49 with 4:54 left in the game.

      SC State shot 11-of-30 from 3-point range along with out-rebounding the Aggies 40-30 to secure the 71-57 victory. Junior guard Brandon Riley added 11 points and six rebounds, while Tyvon Williams chipped in 10 points and five boards, and Pitt finished with eight points and team-high seven rebounds in the victory.

       South Carolina State will return to action on Monday for their final regular season finale against conference foe Norfolk State in an exciting MEAC doubleheader. Tip-off for the women is at 5:30 p.m., with the men following immediately.

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