ATLANTA (Feb. 5) ? In a game of feast or famine, it was Towson who had the last feast in a 61-54 win over Georgia State in a Colonial Athletic Association game Thursday night at the Sports Arena.

Georgia State enjoyed its feast with a 20-1 run that turned a 10-point deficit of 35-25 at 16:20 into a 45-36 lead with 11:35 to play in the game. However, Towson then devoured its feast with a 17-2 run from that 11:35 mark to the 1:22 point left in the game. While the Tigers went seven minutes without a basket during the Georgia State run, the Panthers went 10 minutes late in the game with just one basket.

Georgia State (11-10, 3-7) played tonight without its two starting forwards who are sidelined with injuries. But, the two reserves that filled in led the production. Junior forward Shay Rawls had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore forward Chandra Harris scored 14 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Traci Haltiwanger came off the bench to add 11 points with a trio of three-point baskets.

Towson (13-7, 5-5), in picking up its first-ever win in Atlanta, was paced by its two stalwarts, forward Katrina Wheeler and guard Shanae Baker-Brice. Wheeler scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked three shots, while Baker-Brice contributed 16 points and three assists.

”We had Towson frustrated and had that success with our run, but then just went dry and didn't score at the key times” said head coach Lea Henry. “When we get our leading scorer and rebounder (McKeller) back Sunday, we should get a little spark and get some continuity back in our offense. We've been having trouble scoring consistently and that hurt us again tonight.”

“We could have had better production from our guards tonight, but Traci did come off the bench and give us a lift with those three three-point baskets. The team played hard, but we just couldn't score enough tonight,” Henry concluded.

The game started with State and Towson swapping the lead four times and being tied three times in the first eight minutes. Towson had a 10-2 burst from 10:11 to 3:15 in the first half to open its first advantage of the game. The visiting Tigers took a 30-21 halftime lead into the locker room.

The Panthers travel to Fairfax, Va. to play George Mason on Sunday.