ATLANTA?Leonard Mendez tied the game with one second left in regulation and then scored six points in overtime to lift Georgia State to a 76-71 overtime victory over UTSA Saturday at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
Mendez scored a game-high 22 points, including crucial points down the stretch as the Panthers (3-6) rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to earn the victory.
“I told Leonard in the huddle that he had to step up and lead us to a victory, and he did just that,” said head coach Rod Barnes. “I'm proud of the way we hung together and found a way to get this win.”
State also got strong contributions from its bench as Trae Goldston scored a season-high 18, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and Deven Dickerson added 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
“Trae Goldston played well,” said Barnes. “His confidence was down and he asked what he could do to get out of his slump and I told him to get in the gym. He did that, and he played well because of his hard work.”
UTSA (4-4) took a 64-59 lead on Isaiah Allen's basket with 2:16 left before Dickerson made a layup off a feed from Goldston, who then tied the game with a trey with 1:14 to play. Travis Gabbidon answered for UTSA, and then Mendez tied the game with a pair of free throws with 44 seconds left, but the Roadrunners managed another basket by Keith Spencer to take a 68-66 lead with 12 seconds left.
That's when Mendez hit a foul line jumper at the buzzer that tied the game and appeared to end regulation. But the officials put 0.5 seconds on the clock. UTSA's Joey Shank threw a long inbounds pass that bounced out of bounds without touching anyone, so State regained possession under its own basket with 0.5 seconds. Goldston inbounded to Kevin Lott, who got a shot off but missed the layup, forcing overtime.
Mendez quickly gave State the lead with a jumper before Gabbidon answered with a three-pointer, but that proved to be UTSA's only points of the overtime. Mendez hit a pair of free throws that put the Panthers ahead for good at 72-71 with 2:48 left in overtime, and then he sank two more with 55 seconds left before Goldston sealed the win with two more charity tosses with 16 seconds on the clock.
The Panthers fell behind by 11 points at 51-40 with 14 minutes to play before scoring eight straight points on treys by Goldston and Mendez, followed by Jihad Ali's layup that made the score 51-48 with 11 minutes left.
State tied the game at 52-all on Goldston's jumper and then took its first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by Kevin Lott with 6:22 left that put the Panthers up 57-56.
The Panthers jumped out to early lead in the first half, scoring the first nine point of the game and building a 17-6 advantage with 13 minutes left in the half. State led 19-8 when UTSA reeled off nine straight points. The Panthers took a 35-29 lead on Rashad Chase's layup with 2:34 to play in the first half before the Roadrunners ended the half with a 9-2 run to take a 38-37 lead into the locker room. UTSA then outscored the Panthers 13-3 in the first six minutes of the second half to build a 51-40 lead with 14 minutes to play.
Devin Gibson led UTSA with 14 points, while Keith Spencer had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams shot well as State hit 52.7 percent from the field, including 7-for-16 on three pointers, while UTSA made 52.8 percent. The Panthers helped themselves by going 11-for-13 from the free throw line.
Georgia State returns to action next Saturday, Dec. 22 with a game at Coastal Carolina.
