SSU, Georgetown bring out crowdHarold Lynch visited Savannah State University's campus for the first time in his life Saturday afternoon. The 77-year-old Savannah resident, who is white, was among the 3,176 spectators who came to see No. 19 Georgetown play SSU in the biggest men's college basketball game in the historically black college's history. "We're Georgetown alumni, so we're bringing most of the family here," Lynch said as a line of people in front of a ticket window spilled into the parking lot outside Tiger Arena. "We brought 30 people to support the Hoyas."
Lynch said he was impressed with Tiger Arena and "probably would" return to SSU for future games even if Georgetown is not the opponent. "From what I see, they're very lucky to have this kind of a facility to have their games in," he said. "Everything seems well-organized and looks brand new." SSU tried its best Saturday, both on and off the court. Georgetown defeated SSU, 63-44, but it was a moral victory for a Tiger program that lost, 100-38, to the Hoyas last season in Washington, D.C.
Photo Gallery: View photos from the game.
Savannah St no match for No. 19 Georgetown, 63-44
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Jason Clark scored a career-high 14 points and four Hoyas were in double figures as No. 19 Georgetown rolled to a 63-44 victory against over matched Savannah State on Saturday. Greg Monroe added 13 points for Georgetown (3-0). Austin Freeman had 12 and Chris Wright added 11 in a game that gave the Hoyas a much-needed breather after they squeaked past Temple 46-45 on Tuesday. Darius Baugh scored 10 points to lead Savannah State (2-2), which hit only 13 of 48 field goal attempts. The highlight for Savannah State came when the Tigers shocked the crowd and the Hoyas by jumping out to a 7-0 lead. That prompted Georgetown coach John Thompson III to call a timeout, and it was all Hoyas the rest of the way.
Armchair QB: SSU whiffs on hoops ticket prices
Savannah State reaches out to the local finicky sports fan this weekend. Problem is, the hand is going for your wallet instead of around your shoulder. The school has a rare opportunity Saturday to showcase what has quietly become a quality basketball program. No. 18 Georgetown is in town to play the Tigers, and the Hoyas are the rare draw on SSU’s schedule. To see the game, though, Savannahians will have to part with at least $15 and as much as $50 a head. What should be viewed by SSU as an opportunity to impress potential return customers is a one-time money grab instead.
The decision is as baffling as milking alumni for $125 to tailgate at Homecoming and then charging an additional $20 at the gate. Bart Bellairs, SSU’s athletic director, explains the situation from a pure business perspective. Selling 2,000 tickets at $15 apiece nets much more profit than 3,000 tickets at the regular price of seven bucks. He has officials and game operations people to pay and a budget to meet, not to mention the fact playing the game in Savannah costs the Tigers a huge paycheck: To coax Georgetown to Tiger Arena, SSU had to forego the $30,000 to $40,000 guarantee the school usually receives to play the big boys. And besides, he believes the 3,000-plus tickets reserved for the public will sell anyway.
Attendance: 3,176@ Tiger Arena, Savannah, GA.
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Note to Readers: The connection here is SSU Coach Horace Broadnax is a Georgetown alumnus and played for John Thompson II in the '80s with Patrick Ewing. However, you got to give credit to SSU athletic director Bart Bellairs for capitalizing on the connection and bringing the 19th ranked Hoyas to Tiger Arena. What other HBCU has a "home and home" deal with a Top 25 basketball program? (answer: none) This is what all HBCUs should be doing, in lieu of "barn storming" for $30K-$40K guarantees at someone else arena. Simply, play us at our place for no cost and we will play at your place next season for no cost. This is how you build the local fan base using Top 50 "brands" to get the entire community out to your arena.
The SSU game drew 3,176 fans to Tiger Arena (facility capacity: 6,000)--more or slightly less than the Alabama A&M vs. Mississippi Valley (2,776), Delaware State vs. Howard (2,731) and Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois (3,509) football games played in Week 12. In other words, Savannah State made money on this game where the others lost a truck load of money.
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