ATLANTA-Trey Hampton scored a career-high 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting and Trae Goldston added 18 points as Georgia State won its third straight game with a 70-61 victory over Towson at the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers improved to 8-6 overall, 2-0 in the CAA, including a perfect 5-0 mark at home. Georgia State has won eight straight at the Sports Arena dating back to last season.
Hampton's driving layup tied the score at 53-all with 6:18 to play. Then he grabbed a steal in the backcourt, got fouled and sank the two free throws to put the Panthers ahead for good at 55-53 with 6:12 to play.
Goldston nailed a three-pointer to push the Panthers' lead to 58-53 with 4:16 left, but Towson's Josh Thornton hit back-to-back treys pulled the Tigers within one, 60-59, at 2:28. Hampton answered with another layup, and after a Towson miss, Joe Dukes' free throws put GSU ahead, 64-59, with a minute left.
"I thought our guys had a will to win the game," said GSU head coach Rod Barnes. "It wasn't a great game as far as execution, but we stayed confident throughout the game. I never felt on the sidelines that these guys didn't believe they were going to win the game, and that's the difference in our team right now. Winning breeds winning. Now our guys believe that when we come to the Sports Arena, we're supposed to win the game, and I think that's why we finished strong tonight."
Hampton, a senior from Hoover, Ala., went 8-for-8 with 16 points last time out against Georgia Southern, and over the last three games, he has gone 21-for-25 from the field. He is the fourth different Panther to top the 20-point mark this season, along with Dukes, Goldston and Xavier Hansbro.
The 6-7 forward, who also contributed four rebounds and four blocked shots, was 6-for-6 with 14 points in the second half.
"Trey is a senior, and that's the Trey Hampton we've been looking for," said Barnes. "He,s been answering the call. It's helped him to have Trae [Goldston] and Joe [Dukes] on the wings, so that's opening up scoring opportunities for him."
Goldston has scored 68 points in his last three games, but none have been bigger than his late three-pointer tonight.
"They played some box-and-one and closed out on him, and I told him to just patient," said Barnes. "He showed a lot of maturity and patience, and then he hit that three that really gave us momentum. You want your shooters to hit big shots, and he hit a really big one tonight."
Dukes added 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Hansbro contributed 10 points for the Panthers, who shot 47 percent from the field.
Georgia State led by as many as 15 points in the first half but foul trouble allowed Towson back into the game and the Tigers scored the final seven points of the half to pull within 33-29 at the intermission.
The second-half was a back-and-forth affair before Hampton's late run. Towson leading by as many as four midway through the second half.
Georgia State, which has played strong defense all season, held the Tigers to 34 percent from the field, collected nine steals and blocked eight shots. Towson, however, blocked nine shots, including seven by CAA leader Robert Nawankwo.
Georgia State continues its homestand by hosting Drexel Monday at 7 p.m. at the GSU Sports Arena.
"It's conference play now; the games are tougher, and we have to be tough. Tonight we did that," said Barnes.
--30--
