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Toombs

Men's Basketball

Bulldogs Fall Short Of Knocking Off Tigers

Toombs finished with a team-high 12 points in the loss.
Box Score SAVANNAH, GA—Despite, a hard fought battle down the stretch the South Carolina State Bulldogs fell short, 50-46, of snapping their 14-game losing streak to the Tigers of Savannah State Saturday at Tiger Arena.
        This was the first debut for newly appointed head coach Murray Garvin, who took over the program after former coach Tim Carter resigned after six years at the helm.
        “I told my guys that if we just play hard we will have a chance at the end of the game”, said head coach Murray Garvin.
       SC State jumped out to an early 14-11 lead off a driving layup by senior guard Khalif Toombs at the 8:47 mark. The Tigers took the lead, 18-17, on a power dunk by senior forward Arnold Louis with 4:59 remaining in the half.
       The Bulldogs would not go way keeping the score within striking distance off a 3-pointer by freshman guard Terrance Linton with 3:03 left to move ahead four, 23-19. Louis made his presence known in the middle making back-to-back key layups to put Savannah State ahead, 26-23, with less than 0:56 seconds remaining in the first-half.
       Toombs tossed in a pair of free-throws to cut the lead to one, 26-25. A miss jumper by freshman guard Patrick Myers followed by a rebound and layup by forward Darryl Palmer with 0:02 seconds, tied the game 27-27 going into halftime.
       Junior guard Randall Black opened up the second-half nailing a jumper to give the Bulldogs a five point lead, 36-31 with 12:29 remaining. The Tigers rallied back off a dunk by senior forward Rashad Hassan followed by a 3-pointer by guard Robert Burger to regain the lead, 37-36.
       A 3-pointer by guard Deven Williams gave Savannah State their biggest lead of the second-half five, 45-40 with 5:11 remaining. Palmer scored five straight points off a 3-pointer and a layup to pull SC State within one, 45-44 with 3:02 left.
       The Tigers once again would not be denied as they powered the ball into Louis for a layup to extend their lead to three, 47-44 with a 1:43 remaining in regulation. SC State would not go away as junior forward Matthew Hezekiah's layup with 0:33 seconds cut the lead to one, 47-46.
        Free-throws proved to be the deciding factor down the stretch as senior guard Preston Blackmon tossed in two crucial free-throws with 0:23 seconds left to put the Tigers ahead three, 49-46. Savannah State held on to claim a 50-46 victory over South Carolina State.
         Despite, 16 costly turnover by the Bulldogs and 10 lead changes throughout the entire game, SC State out-rebounded Savannah State 37-33 but only shot 6-of-15 (40%) from the charity stripe.  The Tigers took advantage and shot 15-of-24(62.5%) from the line.
        “Tonight despite the loss was a total team effort,” said Garvin. “You are talking about them facing adversity just 48 hours ago and new team showed up and took one of the top teams in the conference down to the wire”
          Garvin stated, “I am coaching a bunch of men who will play their heart out until the end. I challenge everyone if you haven't seen these guys play please come out and support them.”
         The Bulldogs was led by senior Khalif Tooombs with 12 points and six assits, while teammate Matthew Hezekiah finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. The Tigers were led by senior forward Arnold Louis with the games only double-double in 14 points and 15 rebounds.
        South Carolina State will return to action on Saturday when they host MEAC rival N.C. A&T in doubleheader action.  Tip-off is 4 p.m. for the women, and 6 p.m. for the men.
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