Philadelphia, Pa.?Georgia State dropped its fourth straight close contest, falling at Drexel, 58-51, in a Colonial Athletic Association game Wednesday at the Laskalakis Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
After falling behind by as many as 15 points in the second half, Georgia State (4-12, 1-5 CAA) pulled within three points at 54-51 with 2:49 to play but could get no closer. The Panthers have lost four straight games by a total of just 13 points.
Tramayne Hawkins scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Dragons (9-9, 2-4 CAA), who snapped a three-game losing streak, and Frank Elegar added 14 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
Drexel built a 15-point advantage at 53-37 with eight minutes to play when the Panthers went on a 14-1 run, capped by Rashad Chase's layup at the 2:49 mark that made the score 54-51. Chase made three buckets on the run, and four other players also scored.
After the Dragons missed a shot, State had the ball, down three with just under two minutes but missed three shots before Drexel finally corralled the rebound. Then Elegar scored on the other end with 55 seconds left to extend the lead to 56-51.
No Georgia State players reached double figures as the Panthers shot just 38 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers. Justin Billingslea had game highs of nine points and six rebounds. State's leading scorer, Leonard Mendez, was held to six points on 2-for-11 shooting.
“Both teams came in really needing a win,” said Georgia State head coach Rod Barnes. “Give credit to Drexel because they did a very good of guarding our leading scorer, Leonard Mendez, and it's very difficult for us to win if he has an off night. But we turned the ball over way too many times, and that led to some easy baskets for them. You can't do that on the road.”
Both teams shot poorly in the first half as Georgia State managed to hit just 6-of-22 shots (27 percent) while Drexel went 9-for-25 (36 percent) to take a 24-19 halftime lead.
Georgia State returns home to host UNC Wilmington Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
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