Rankins scores 13, hits late free throws to seal Savannah State’s 52-48 win over W. Illinois

Savannah St. beats W. Illinois 52-48

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tracy Rankins scored 13 points and Patrick Hardy added 10 to help Savannah State hold off Western Illinois 52-48 on Tuesday night.

The game was close throughout the second half, and James Granstra’s layup with 21 seconds left pulled the Leathernecks to within 49-48. But Arnold Lewis hit one of two free throws 13 seconds later to extend the Tigers lead, and Rankins hit both of his with 1 second left for the final margin.

Rankins finished 4-for-4 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the foul line for the Tigers (3-2), who rebounded from losses to North Florida and No. 18 Georgetown in their last two games.

The Tigers trailed by two points at halftime, but shot 61 percent (11-for-18) in the second half while outscoring the Leathernecks 31-25.

Ceola Clark paced Western Illinois (2-3) with 15 points.