SAVANNAH, Ga.- Georgia Tech shot 53.2 percent from the field and went on to defeat Savannah State 65-45 in Tiger Arena, before a crowd of 3,521.

Layups by Arnold Louis and Rashad Hassan gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead at the 18:51 mark. But then SSU's offense went cold and they didn't score another field goal until Preston Blackmon made a layup with 10:32 on the clock to make the score 15-7.

Tech led 19-7 but a 3-pointer by Joshua Montgomery and a layup by Hassan sliced SSU's deficit to 19-12 with 5:37 on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets put together another run to regain their 12-point lead with 2:09 left but Savannah State closed the first half with a layup and a 3-pointer from Blackmon and trailed 26-19 at intermission.

Tech started the second period with a 14-2 run to increase their lead to 19 with 14:09 left in the contest.

Layups by Jyles Smith and Hassan and a jumper by Blackmon pulled SSU with 41-27 with 12:53 remaining.

Ahead by 19, the Jackets scored six straight points to build a 60-35 advantage with 4:50 left.

A 3-pointer by Stephen Wilson cut SSU's deficit to 60-39 with 4:14 on the clock but the Tigers could get no closer.

Hassan and Blackmon each scored 10 points for SSU (3-7). Blackmon added six assists while Louis had nine rebounds.

Brandon Reed led the Jackets (6-4) with 16 points.

Both teams had 37 rebounds.

Tech made 18.2 percent of their 3-point shots while SSU shot 20 percent. The Jackets made 13 of 20 free throw attempts while the Tigers made 7 of 18.