ATLANTA?Georgia State fell at Winston-Salem State, 67-61, as Michael Puckett led the Rams with 15 points off the bench, including 11 points in the final four minutes.

Rashad Chase led the Panthers (2-6) with a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, and Justin Billingslea added 11 points, but leading scorer Leonard Mendez was held to just eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. Freshman D.J. Jones scored nine points for the Panthers.

Georgia State trailed most of the game, falling behind by as many as 13 points in the second half. The Panthers fought back to pull within three points at 57-54 on Billingslea's layup with 4:32 to play. State nearly had a stop on the other end, but Puckett hit a three-pointer from the corner with the shot clock about to expire to extend the Winston-Salem State lead to six. Mendez answered with a bucket on the other end, but the Panthers could get no closer. Puckett made another basket and then five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

“After two tough losses, we didn't come out with the same intensity tonight that we showed against Georgia Tech,” said State head coach Rod Barnes, whose squad fell to the Yellow Jackets by five points Wednesday.

“We've got to play well and play hard from start to finish. If we do that, we're a good team. Tonight we were not a good team. We've got to learn from this.

“Give Winston-Salem State credit. They a quick, athletic team, and they hit big shots when they had to. But we didn't give the effort that we needed to.”

The Rams (2-5) outrebounded Georgia State, 36-32, forced 18 Panther turnovers and helped themselves by hitting 22 of 27 from the free throw line.

The Panthers trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, falling behind 33-25 before Chase's three-point basket with five seconds left made the score 33-28 at the intermission.

Georgia State returns to action next Saturday, Dec. 15, hosting UTSA at 7:30 p.m. at the Georgia State Sports Arena.

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