Williamsburg, Va.-Georgia State mounted a furious last minute comeback but fell, 69-65, to William & Mary Wednesday at Kaplan Arena. The Panthers trailed by nine with 30 seconds remaining but pulled within two with 4.3 seconds remaining before the Tribe made two final free throws to secure the victory.
Freshman Javonte Maynor, who nailed the three-pointer with 4.3 seconds remaining to cut the lead to two, nailed seven three-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points. The Snellville, Ga., native hit 7-of-10 from outside the arc in 28 minutes off the bench.
Georgia State (11-17, 6-11 CAA) lost its third straight game, all on the road, while William & Mary (9-20, 4-13 CAA) won its second straight as the Tribe honored senior Marcus Kitts on senior night.
The difference in the game came at the free throw line where the Tribe went 29-of-37, while Georgia State managed to go just 4-of-9 as the Panthers committed 29 fouls to William & Mary's 11.
"It's disappointing to lose a game like this," commented head coach Rod Barnes. "We missed a lot of open shots in the first half. Down the stretch, I thought our guys hung in there and defended well, which allowed us to get back into the game.
"Javonte shot the ball really well. I really believe that he has a chance to be a special player. We got him the ball and set some good screens for him to get some wide open shots. He really stepped up in the second half and I am proud of the way he played."
William & Mary freshman Brandon Britt led the Tribe with 20 points, hitting 10-of-12 from the free throw line.
The Tribe built its lead to 15 on a lay-up by Tim Rusthoven with 5:25 to play before the Panthers made one last run.
Junior Josh Micheaux made back-to-back steals at mid-court and turned them into lay-ups to cut the lead to 58-52 with 1:38, capping an 8-0 run.
After the Tribe built its lead back to 10 points, GSU senior Dante Curry hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining, cutting the lead to 62-55.
Junior Eric Buckner followed with a lay-up and freshman Devonta White made a pair of free throws to get the deficit back to seven after made free throws by the Tribe.
White's steal and then a lay-up by Micheaux with 10 seconds remaining cut the lead to 67-62 before Curry stole the ball on the inbounds pass and Maynor knocked down a three.
Micheaux finished with eight points, while junior James Fields dished out six assists.
After shooting 26.7 percent in the first half, the Panthers rebounded by shooting 56.3 percent in the second and finished the game 9-of-22 from three-point range.
The Tribe opened the first half with a hot hand, taking a 19-7 lead with 10:30 remaining, hitting six of their first 10 shots, including four of eight from three-point range. William & Mary held State to just three of 11 shooting to open the game.
White's jumper in the lane as time expired sent the Panthers into the locker room down 30-19 after shooting just 8-of-30 from the field.
Senior Marques Johnson finished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists in his final road game.
Georgia State will return home for Senior Day on Saturday night, facing George Mason at 6 p.m. Seniors Marques Johnson and Dante Curry will be honored before the game.
Students are encouraged to come out to the Sports Arena for the SunTrust Shootout. One lucky student will be selected for a chance to win up to $2500 from SunTrust. As a reminder, admission for students is free to all GSU home sporting events.
Tickets for that game can be bought by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or by going online to GeorgiaStateSports.com. The game can be heard live on WRAS-FM 88.5 beginning 30 minutes prior to tip.
--GeorgiaStateSports.com--
