ATLANTA?Leonard Mendez scored 23 points, including 10 straight in the decisive second-half run, and Justin Billingslea added a season-high 14 points as Georgia State won its second straight game with a 64-58 victory over Drexel Wednesday at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
State (6-14, 3-7 CAA) trailed 49-44 with nine minutes to play when Mendez began his spurt with a three-pointer. He followed with a jumper in the lane, then a layup off an inbounds play before nailing another trey with 5:58 to play that gave the Panthers a 54-53 lead they would not surrender.
Kevin Lott then scored two straight baskets to extend Georgia State's lead to 58-53 before Tramayne Hawthorne nailed a three-pointer for Drexel (9-13, 2-8 CAA). D.J. Jones hit one free throw for State, and then Mendez made two free throws to put the Panthers ahead 61-56 with 39 seconds left.
Scott Rodgers answered for Drexel with a three-point play to pull the Dragons back within three at 61-58 before Lott sealed the win by hitting three of four foul shots in the final 15 seconds.
“Leonard came up big for us in the second half again, and we have to have that,” said Georgia State head coach Rod Barnes. “He is working hard in practice and learning to pace himself so that he can be aggressive at the end of games.
“I'm so happy for Justin Billingslea. These are the type of games we've been losing because we haven't had that inside-outside play, but tonight JB stepped up for us. He really helped us, and we had some other guys come off the bench, like Ousman Krubally and Kevin Lott, and made some big shots for us.”
Billingslea, State's only senior starter, contributed six rebounds and three blocks along with his 14 points, and Lott and Jones added seven points. The Panthers committed just nine turnovers.
Drexel , which dropped its fourth straight, got 17 points from Hawthone, but State got the Dragons' top player, Frank Elegar, into foul trouble, limiting him to seven points and no rebounds.
The Panthers return to action Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Old Dominion.
