JACKSONVILLE, ALA. (Dec. 28) -With four players scoring in double figures, Georgia State claimed a 68-60 win over Jacksonville State Wednesday night at Pete Mathews Arena.
Trailing 33-30 at the half, GSU outscored the host Gamecocks 38-27 in the second half to improve to 5-6.
Chan Harris had 13 points, 9 rebounds and two blocks to pace the effort. Guard Kendra Long added 13 points with three treys, while center Cody Paulk scored 12 points in her 13 minutes. Guard Sade Means came off the bench to add 10 more points. Freshman center Alana Beroth sparked the second-half start with a seven-point, five-rebound, one-steal game.
"We came back out and played the second half tonight like we wanted to win," coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. "We were lackadaisical on defense in the first half, but picked up the intensity and got some turnovers, steals and blocks to get us started. We are figuring out how to win on the road, so with this young team and new players, every building block helps."
GSU had fallen behind early by 10 points at 19-9 at 11:45 and were down their largest margin at 24-13 with 7:45. But, a rally closed the gap back to 33-30 at halftime with eight points from the paint.
In the first four minutes of the second half, GSU claimed a 43-39 lead with a 13-6 start to the second half. Jacksonville State's final rally tied the game at 49 and 51 with 6:21 to go. But, a quick 6-0 run pushed it back up to 57-51 with 5:11. JSU closed to 63-59 with 42 seconds, but Jerlisa Taylor made one of two free throws Kendra Long nailed her two free throws to help seal the win.
GSU held a 50-42 rebound advantage, forced 23 turnovers, made 10 steals and blocked seven shots. But, the Panthers hurt themselves by making just 10-of-23 free throws (43.5%). That meant GSU shot better from the field (44.3%) than from the free throw line.
Georgia State defeated Jacksonville State for the sixth straight time and improved the series record to 22-5 all-time vs. the Gamecocks. This game included eight lead changes.
The Panthers used their bench again, playing 12 players, with the bench players providing 27 of the 68 points to go with 18 rebounds.
GSU tries to get back to .500 on the season when the Panthers play host Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Jan. 2.
