The Lady Tigers shook off the rust on Monday, getting back into the swing of basketball following the winter break.
Savannah State defended home court against a scrappy LeMoyne-Owen team and will look to do it again tonight as they host Lane College in a cross-divisional Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game.
The Lady Tigers began the 2022-2023 season ranked, but two losses against Anderson on Dec. 10 and Tuskegee on Dec. 15 pushed them out of the rankings. They made their way back into the D2SIDA South Region Poll last week in the No. 7 spot following their three-game win streak.
In the SIAC East Division standings, Savannah State leads with a 5-1 conference record
LAST GAME
Inside Tiger Arena, the Lady Tigers are tough to beat. On Monday, Savannah State was down at the half, 28-31, against a scrappy four-win LeMoyne-Owen team.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Mia Goolsby made a free-throw at the 5:57 mark to spark an 8-0 run for Savannah State. The Lady Tigers outscored LeMoyne-Owen 14-5 in the quarter for a lead they would not relinquish. (READ MORE HERE)
PLAYER OUTLOOK
Savannah State is led this season by a few veterans and a newcomer. Redshirt Freshman guard #20 Nyla Allen tops the scoring this year, averaging 16.3 points a game. (Allen missed the last game due to injury.)
Junior guard #23 Amari Heard is averaging 14.5 points a game, followed by newcomer #1 Myasia Jones (14.0), senior #22 Bria Gibbs (13.7), and #3 Mia Goolsby (9.3). Jones leads the defensive effort with 9.7 boards a game, followed by Gibbs (8.4). Heard leads in steals (23) and blocks (13).
LAST GAME vs. LANE COLLEGE
Since returning to the SIAC and Division II in 2019, Savannah State is 2-1 against Lane College. In their last meeting, on Jan. 8, 2022, the Lady Tigers beat Lane in Tiger Arena, 75-54. All-SIAC shooting guard Le'Andrea Gillis—who's now playing for Georgia Southern—put up 27 points in that win.
OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT
Lane College is having a pretty strong season thus far. The Dragons are 9-3 overall and 5-1 in conference. Their only SIAC loss came against Clark Atlanta. Early in their season, they beat reigning SIAC Champs Benedict College, 87-64. They are in second place in the SIAC West Division, trailing 7-1 Tuskegee.
Lane is led this season by a couple of veteran post-players. Junior forward #35 Brailyn Tate is averaging 16.1 points a game and 6.8 rebounds. Senior center #25 Kayla Simmons is putting away 15.4 points a game and leads the team in rebound with 9.7 an outing.
Game 2Savannah State University Tigers (6-4, 4-2 SIAC)Vs.Lane College Dragons (5-8, 3-4 SIAC)
TIME: 7:30 p.m., Jan. 4, 2023
LOCATION: Savannah, Ga. | Tiger Arena
THEME: Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night
GAME DAY INFORMATION
TICKETS ($10-$50)
PARKING: (Free)
The Savannah State men's basketball team opened the new year on Monday against an elite LeMoyne-Owen and pulled out a big win.
Savannah State has had a surprising season thus far. The reigning SIAC Champions have been hot and cold, but mostly moved through their conference schedule with big wins. Savannah State, 4-2, sits in second place in the SIAC East Division, trailing 5-1 Fort Valley.
The Tigers are in the midst of a four-game homestand. They will host a total of seven SIAC games in January, before hosting the SIAC Tournament in late February
LAST GAME
In a cross-divisional Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) matchup with LeMoyne-Owen, Savannah State was technically underdogs on Monday night. But that didn't matter in the end. In the end, it came down to the last minute and thirty seconds as Savannah State escaped with a 65-62 win. (READ MORE HERE
PLAYER OUTLOOK
#30 Eleik Bowles has topped most of the stats this season for Savannah State—putting away a career-high 40 points in a win against Flagler. Bowles is averaging 15.8 points a game and leads the team in field goals made (63), three-point field goals made (12), rebounds (43), steals (13), and minutes (30.7/game).
#2 Ayjay Plain is having a strong season as well, putting up 9.6 points a game. He leads the team from the charity strip, with a .526 free-throw percentage and 23 made shots. #11 Za'Khari Cobb is averaging 8.9 points while freshman #10 Zion Davis is putting away 5.7.
LAST GAME VS. LANE COLLEGE
Savannah State is 1-2 against Lane College since rejoining the SIAC and NCAA Division II in 2019. They earned their first win over Lane on March 1, 2022 at the 2022 SIAC Championship, beating the Dragons 60-50 en-route to the SIAC Title
OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT
Lane enters today's game on a two-game losing streak. This will be the opening game of the new year for the Dragons. They closed December with losses to Clark Atlanta (Dec. 15, 58-63) and Morehouse College (Dec. 17, 78-90). They are 3-4 in conference action, sitting in fifth place in the SIAC West Division.
The Dragons are led by a pair of guards and a big forward. Guard #1 Allen Kelvin is averaging 12.7 points a game while guard #12 Floyd Williams is putting away 12.0 points. Forward #35 Justin Sylver is averaging 10.7 points a game.
Original source can be found here
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