Horace Broadnax knew it would be tough when he took over the Savannah State program.

But 2-28 is a bitter pill for any new coach to swallow.

The Tigers were better than they were in 2004-05 when they were winless all season, but a two-win season is not the kind of progress Broadnax wanted to make.

There were little indications that the Tigers were beginning to improve -- but nothing that Broadnax could wrap his arms around. The Tigers were a fighting group and did not give up despite their troubles. They were beaten by 20 points or more in only one of their last six games. That may not sound like much, but for a team that had a 25.3 point average margin of defeat, it was a step up.

Savannah State will try to climb the ladder next year, but there's only so much that coaching, strategy and desire can do. The Tigers clearly need a huge influx of talent before they can become competitive.

In their final game of the year against Longwood, the Tigers played tough in a game that included 13 lead changes and eight ties. The Lancers took over the pace, and the Tigers chose to foul on nearly every Longwood possession during the final 3:18. The strategy almost worked, as Longwood was 13-for-20 at the line.

The Tigers got 20 points from Terry Hill and 19 from Randolph. Flegler and Linton each added 11 points.

SSU shot 43 percent (28-for-65) from the field, including 25 percent (4-for-16) on 3-pointers, and 73 percent (11-for-15) at the line.

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