SAVANNAH, GA (November 28, 2021) – The Claflin Panthers (1-3) gave a solid effort, but it was not quite enough in a 68-51 road loss to the Savannah State Tigers. The Panthers played a strong game on both ends of the court, but the team could not get the points they needed to overcome the Tigers.
As a team, the Panthers gave an overall good effort. The Panthers shot a solid 43.8% (21-for-48) from the floor. Claflin senior forward Isaiah Jennings led the way for the team with 16 points off the bench. Freshman guard Richard Visitacion added 11 points with four rebounds. Junior forward Shamarie McLoed led the Panthers’ rebounding efforts with a team-high seven rebounds.
The Panthers had a slow start to the game that proved to be costly at the end. In the half, the team was held to just 21 points. The Panthers found themselves in a tough spot early as the team allowed a 14-2 run by the Tigers to open the game. The Panthers would get things going later in the half as a jumper from junior guard Alan Hatchett with 8:40 left in the half cut the Panthers’ deficit down to just seven points, 19-12. However, in the remainder of the half, the team could not get any closer and the team ended the half with a 35-21 deficit.
The second half told a much different story for the Panthers as the team came out with a much better offensive effort. Things didn’t look well for the Panthers early in the half as the team fell behind by as many as 30 points, 63-33, with 6:39 left to play. However, the team staged a furious comeback effort in the final minutes of the game. In the final minutes of the game, the Panthers outscored the Tigers 17-5 to finish the game with the 68-51 loss.
With the loss, the Panthers fall to 1-3 to open the season. The team will return to action, Monday when they host the Lander Bearcats in a 7:00 p.m. game.