Ruston, La.-Georgia State dropped a 51-45 decision to Louisiana Tech Saturday afternoon in the annual ESPN Bracketbusters event at the Thomas Assembly Center. It marked the Panthers' final non-conference game of the regular season.
Redshirt-junior Jihad Ali led the GSU with eight points and six rebounds as nine different Panthers scored.
Louisiana Tech's Olu Ashaolu finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, one of three Bulldogs to score in double figures.
Georgia State (11-16, 6-10 CAA) dropped its second straight game and lost a Bracketbusters game for the first time under head coach Rod Barnes. The Panthers were 4-1 in the annual event entering Saturday and 3-0 under the fourth-year head coach.
Louisiana Tech (12-16, 2-10 WAC) snapped a four-game losing streak and won its fourth straight over the Panthers dating back to 1976.
"They just made some plays down the stretch," commented head coach Rod Barnes. "We had some opportunities and were not able to take advantage of them. We had guys with some open shots at the end, but we were just not able to convert."
Playing without leading scorer DeAndre Brown who was suspended indefinitely by head coach Kerry Rupp prior to the start of the game, the Bulldogs slashed the Panther defense early. Tech nailed eight of its first 10 shots, while holding the Panthers to just 3 of 11 shooting halfway through the first half.
The Bulldogs built their lead to 21-8 with 9:48 to play in the half, holding the Panthers without a field goal for nearly seven minutes.
"We got off to a slow start, but we fought back and gave ourselves a chance at the end," said Barnes. "It's just disappointing that we came all the way out here and were not able to get a win."
Georgia State held Tech without a field goal over the final 8:46 of the half, as the Bulldogs hit just three free throws and missing nine straight field goals, while the Panthers used an 8-0 run to go into halftime down just 26-23.
A dunk by James Vincent quickly cut the Bulldogs lead to just one only seconds into the second half.
State took its first lead when freshman Rashaad Richardson made a lay-up with 15:07 remaining. State's 32-31 lead was the only time the Panthers would be ahead.
Other than a dunk by Ashaolu, the Panthers held the Bulldogs without a field goal over the final 9:33, but could not take advantage of a several open shots and put backs down the stretch.
Down four, senior Marques Johnson nailed a jumper at the top of the key cut the lead to two with 18.6 seconds, but State could not get over the hump.
The Panthers bench outscored the Bulldogs 18-0, while also holding a slim 34-33 lead on the boards.
Sophomore James Vincent, coming off his first career double-double, finished with six points and six rebounds, while junior Brandon McGee added six and four boards.
Louisiana Tech got 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from Lonnie Smith, and 10 points from Kenyon McNeaill.
Georgia State will conclude its three-game road trip in Williamsburg, Va. on Wednesday, facing William & Mary at 7 p.m. The Panthers will conclude the regular season next Saturday at home, facing first place George Mason at 6 p.m. in the Sports Arena for Senior Night.
Both games can be heard live on WRAS-FM 88.5 beginning 30 minutes prior to tip. Tickets for that game can be bought by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or by going online to GeorgiaStateSports.com.
--GeorgiaStateSports.com--
