Bailey's 22 Leads SSU Past Bulldogs

December 8 , 2007
ORANGEBURG, SC- Raye Bailey scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead Savannah State to a 73-69 victory over South Carolina State.

Bailey finished the contest going 5-for-5 from the field, hit both of his 3-point attempts, converted all 10 of his free throw attempts and dished out four assists.

Chris Linton added 16 points and eight rebounds for SSU who evened their record at 6-6.

With the score tied at four, the Bulldogs went on a 11-3 run to open up a eight point lead with 10:38 on the clock.

SSU answered with a 10-2 spurt to knot the contest at 17 with 8:40 left in the period.

South Carolina State ran its lead to seven with seven unanswered points. Trailing by four, a 3-pointer by Bailey trimmed the Bulldogs lead to 31-30 with 1:15 left before halftime.

SCSU ended the half with a 3-pointer from Everett Spencer and a free throw from Jason Johnson to take a 35-30 advantage into the locker room.

The Tigers were down by seven early in the second period but a 20-8 run gave SSU a 49-44 advantage with 11:55 remaining.

Savannah State led by as many as seven before the Bulldogs stormed back to pull to within one with 6:32 on the clock.

In the final three minutes, SSU was held to just one field goal but Bailey hit all eight of his free throws to seal the win.

The Bulldogs fell to 3-6 and had a trio of players in double figures. Johnson came off the bench to score 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Carrio Bennett added 16, seven rebounds and five assists. Reserve Thomas Bookman added 10 points.

After shooting 37 percent from the field in the opening period, SSU was 12-of-22 in the second half. The Bulldogs finished the contest shooting 42.9 percent from the floor.