NORFOLK, Va. — For the second straight game, Deven Williams set a career scoring high for Savannah State as the Tigers defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 59-44 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament opening round action Monday night.
Williams hit 10 of 13 shots from the field and knocked down a career-high 6 of 7 3-pointers en route to 26 points. The junior bested the 21 points he scored against UMES on March 7 in the teams’ regular-season finale, a 71-54 Savannah State victory.
The Tigers (19-13) shot 51.1 percent (23 of 45), though besides Williams, the rest of the team connected on just 2 of 10 3-point tries. Preston Blackman added 12 points and Rashad Hassan had 10.
Savannah State opened with an 11-2 lead it never surrendered. It led 28-24 at halftime and 39-29 with 14:54 remaining.
Troy Snyder paced the Hawks (2-26) with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Tigers advance to play the winner of the Morgan State-South Carolina State game at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
MD.-EASTERN SHORE (2-26)
Cowell 1-6 4-4 6, Bell 3-6 0-0 8, Mays 2-5 0-0 4, Snyder 3-8 2-3 9, Kosile 3-6 0-0 6, Pitt 1-5 2-4 4, Williams II 2-4 0-0 5, Ezeiru 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 16-44 8-11 44.<
SAVANNAH ST. (19-13)
Blackman 4-9 2-2 12, C. Smith 0-1 2-6 2, Williams 10-13 0-0 26, Hassan 5-7 0-0 10, Louis 2-3 0-0 4, Burger 0-2 0-0 0, White 0-2 1-2 1, Hendley 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 0-3 0-0 0, Spears 1-1 0-0 2, J. Smith 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 23-45 5-10 59.<
Halftime—Savannah St. 28-24. 3-Point Goals—Md.-Eastern Shore 4-14 (Bell 2-4, Williams II 1-3, Snyder 1-5, Cowell 0-2), Savannah St. 8-17 (Williams 6-7, Blackman 2-5, Wilson 0-1, Hassan 0-1, White 0-1, Burger 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Md.-Eastern Shore 25 (Pitt, Snyder 5), Savannah St. 28 (J. Smith 8). Assists—Md.-Eastern Shore 7 (Snyder 4), Savannah St. 11 (Blackman 4). Total Fouls—Md.-Eastern Shore 16, Savannah St. 12. Technical—Williams. A—NA.
WOMEN
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 50, SAVANNAH STATE 35
NORFOLK, Va. — The Savannah State women, shooting an ice-cold 26.1 percent from the field, fell to South Carolina State 50-35 in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament Monday.
The Tigers (7-23) fell behind early and were down 23-14 at the half. SSU got to within three at 23-20 as the second half opened, but the Bulldogs scored 10 unanswered points for a 33-20 advantage. Fannie Goodwin sparked the SCSU run with two layups and four key rebounds. She ended the night with a game-high 12 rebounds and eight points. The Bulldogs’ Brittany Cochran led all scorers with 17 points.
For Savannah State, Jasmine Norman had 13 points and Erin Hogue had six rebounds.
SCSU (20-8) plays Coppin State on Thursday.
SAVANNAH STATE (35)
Norman 4-11 5-6 13, Uba 1-9 0-0 2, Thomas 3-9 0-0 7, Hogue 1-6 0-0 2, Greene 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Hanton 1-1 1-1 3, Shelton 0-3 3-4 3, Frazier 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 12-46 9-12 35.
SC STATE (50)
Knotts 0-8 1-3 1, Clarke 2-7 1-2 5, Fox 0-2 0-0 5, Floyd 2-5 0-0 5, Williams 3-7 0-0 6, Duren 3-5 1-2 8, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Cochran 5-8 7-8 17, Goodwin 4-9 0-0 8. Totals 19-54 10-15 50.
Halftime—SC 23-14. 3-point goals—SSU 2-11 (Norman 0-4, Uba 0-4, Thomas 1-1, Williams 0-1, Hanton 1-1), SC 2-9 (Knotts 0-4, Foyd 1-1, Williams 0-2, Duren 1-1, Jones 0-1). Fouled out—none. Rebounds—SSU 26 (Hogue 6), SC 47 (Goodwin 12). Assists—SSU 3 (Uba 1, Williams 1, Hanton 1). Total fouls—SSU 14, SC 11. Technical fouls—none. A—N/A.