BALTIMORE (Feb. 10) – Georgia State dropped a 92-65 decision to Towson in a Colonial Athletic Association Saturday afternoon game at Towson Center.
Towson rolled early to a 50-31 halftime lead and Georgia State got no closer than 60-44 at 12:32 as the host Tigers then continued to build the lead down the stretch.
Georgia State (8-17, 4-11) was led in scoring by senior forward Lance Perique with 20 points and 7 rebounds, while guard Leonard Mendez added 13 points.
Towson (13-13, 7-8) got the outstanding performance from the No. 6 scorer in the nation, Gary Neal, as he topped his 25.4 average with 37 points this afternoon on 8-of-13 three-point shooting and 13-of-20 overall. Forward Dennard Abraham added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Towson made 10-of-20 three-point baskets and shot 59 percent for the game.
“The key point was in the first half when it was a 22-21 ball game and we turned it over four or five consecutive times and they went on their big run,” said head coach Michael Perry. “Gary Neal is the kind of player that can make you just shake your head in disbelief. We were hanging all over him on some and he even go three-point plays off those.”
In the first half, Towson made its first five shots, including three three-point baskets by Gary Neal and a three-point shot by Pease, to open a 16-7 lead at 15:30. But, Georgia State put on a run of its own with a 10-2 burst to close to 20-19 at 10:30. At that point, Georgia State was 10-of-12 from the field. But, the Gary Neal show continued with a free throw, an old-fashioned three-point play, a driving basket for six straight point to start a 10-0 Towson run to open a 32-21 lead at 6:31. Neal continued his onslaught with eight straight points again and Towson had a 40-24 lead at 4:23. In the final two minutes, Neal made his fifth trey of the half and another basket to close the first half with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting for 28 points. Georgia State shot 65 percent in the first half on 13-of-20, but was just 3-of-13 from the free throw line. Lance Perique's 10 points paced State.
The Panthers return home for two games, starting with a Wednesday CAA meeting with Northeastern from Boston at 7 p.m. and finishing with a Saturday ESPN BracketBuster game with Elon at 2 p.m. on Homecoming and Lettermen's Day.
