ATLANTA--James Vincent scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 73-65 win over Towson in a Colonial Athletic Association game Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena.
With the win, Georgia State moved to 3-1 in the CAA and 8-6 overall. Towson fell to 4-10, 0-4 in the CAA. The Panthers are 6-2 at home this season and won for the fifth straight time at home against the Tigers.
Dante Curry scored a game-high 12 points for the Panthers on four three-pointers, and Jihad Ali added 11 points, while James Fields handed out a career-best nine assists.
"I was really proud of our guys tonight," commented head coach Rod Barnes. "We didn't play our best basketball, but we did what we needed to do to earn the win. We just keep building confidence and a win like this will only add to that."
Leading 41-38 early in the second half, the Panthers scored 14 straight points in just four minutes to build a 55-38 lead with 10:34 to play. Ali started the spurt with a three-pointer, Vincent had back-to-back dunks, and Curry punctuated the run with a trey.
"James Vincent came through for us," said Barnes, who got to celebrate his birthday with a victory. "He has great potential and I thought he had a chance to make a great impact for us tonight. On the defensive side, he was able to affect some shots and then on the offensive end, hw gave us a great inside post presence."
Towson managed to pull within eight points at 67-59 with 3:39 to play, but Eric Buckner answered with a dunk. Buckner finished with seven points and five boards.
After leading 33-32 at the half, Georgia State shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half to outscore the Tigers, 40-33 after the intermission. The Panthers were at 50 percent for the game, marking the fifth contest out of the last six in which GSU has shot 50 percent or better.
Georgia State hit 11 of 25 three-pointers including four by Curry, three by freshman Javonte Maynor, who finished with nine points, and three by Ali, who also contributed four rebounds. It tied for the second most three-pointers in a CAA game since the Panthers joined the league in 2005.
Braxton Dupree led the Tigers with 21 points and nine rebounds. Three other Towson starters reached double figures as Josh Brown scored 14 points, Isaiah Philmore 13 and Rashawn Polk 12, but the GSU bench outscored Towson's, 30-2.
The Panthers now head on the road for three straight CAA games, beginning next Wednesday at James Madison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Harrisonburg, Va.
State will return home on Jan. 22 to face Delaware at 2 p.m. The Panthers will host the Second Annual Great Baby Race at halftime. Tickets for that game, as well as all remaining home games can be purchased by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com.
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