Box Score ORANGEBURG, SC—Senior's Eric Eaves and Greg Mortimer would not be denied in their final home game of their college careers, leading South Carolina State to a, 75-64, victory over Florida A&M on Senior Day Saturday (Feb. 25) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

Eaves finished with a game-high 22 points and six assists and Mortimer added 20, while Orangeburg native Tashombe Riley chip in 15 points and nine rebounds in the win.

"I am so proud we were able to get a win for these seniors, "said head coach Murray Garvin. "They mean so much to our program and the success we have here at South Carolina State."

Garvin stated, "Despite everything we been through we wanted to go into the MEAC Tournament playing our best basketball and this is right where we want to be and I believe we are headed in that direction."

South Carolina State led by as many as 10, 20-10, early on at the 8:57 mark in the first half. Florida A&M cut the lead to three, 24-21, off a layup by Derrick Dandridge followed by a three pointer with 5:14 remaining. The Bulldogs responded with a driving layup by Mortimer and a three pointer by Ed Stephens to push the lead to eight, 29-21, with 3:36 left in intermission.

The Rattlers rattled off four unanswered points to cut the lead to four, 29-25, to close out the first half.

The second half was nip-in-tuck early on with the Bulldogs going ahead eight, 52-44, off an alley-hoop dunk by Riley from Eaves at the 9:16 mark. FAMU pulled within two, 54-52, off a layup by Nicholas Severado.

Mortimer's layup followed by a pair of free throws down the stretch gave the Bulldogs a 12-point advantage, 64-52, with 1:27 remaining in regulation. Riley put the icing on the cake with a thrown down slam to secure South Carolina State its second straight MEAC win in a row over visiting Florida A&M.

Senior guard Ed Stephens added eight points, three rebounds and three steals as SC State improved to 10-18 overall, 7-8 in the MEAC.

FAMU falls to 7-21 overall, 5-10 in the league. Desmond Williams led the Rattlers with a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Barham added 11 in the loss.

"We have a tough contest next week against a very talented Savannah State team to close out the regular season, "said Garvin. "So, we need every Bulldog fan within distance to come out and support us as we seek our third straight league win a row this season."

Next up South Carolina State close out the regular season on the road at Savannah State in a MEAC doubleheader. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.

Purchase your tickets now for the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament March 6-11 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA. For more information you can visit www.meacsports.com.

For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.
 
 PICTURE GALLERY


 

(L-R) Bulldog senior's Bobby Williams Jr.,  Eric Eaves, Ed Stephens,
Greg Mortimer and head coach Murray Garvin.


Childhood friends and teammates Ed Stephens and Eric Eaves
reached an milestone becoming the first duo in school history to
join the 1000-point club in the same season.