What You Need to Know:
* Redshirt-freshman Jeff Thomas scored a career-high 18 points to lead Georgia State to a 68-64 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
* The Panthers went 7-of-13 from 3-point range and 23-of-30 from the free throw line to secure the win.
* Georgia State has now won 11-straight at home and is 29-1 in the GSU Sports Arena since the start of the 2013-14 season.
ATLANTA-Four Panthers scored in double figures, led by Jeff Thomas' 18 to lead Georgia State to a 68-64 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
Redshirt-junior Jeremy Hollowell added 16 points and seven rebounds, while senior Kevin Ware scored 12 and senior Markus Crider came off the bench to add 13 points and seven rebounds.
Thomas finished with a career high while going 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range as the Panthers went 7-of-13 from behind the arc. Hollowell knocked down the Panthers other three 3-pointers and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Georgia State (5-2) won its second straight and are now tied for the best seven-game start under head coach Ron Hunter. The Panthers extended their home court winning streak to 11, the third-longest in program history and are now 29-1 at home since the start of the 2013-14 season. Georgia State is also 52-15 in their last 67 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013, ironically a win over ODU, and have won 11-of-14 games dating back to last season.
Despite 16 points from both Zoran Talley and Trey Freeman, Old Dominion fell to 4-5 a season after reaching the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden.
“I thought that was a very impressive win for our team,” Hunter said. “We are still in the process of learning how to win and playing in our system, but we have made a few changes and the light switch is starting to turn on. The most impressive part of this is that we did it against a very good team that played well tonight.”
With both teams using a hot hand, Old Dominion took a 19-11 lead with 12:36 to play in the first half before Georgia State responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 19, one of five ties in the first half. Thomas knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during the run.
Georgia State went into the locker room leading 36-35 as the two teams changed leads 11 times in the half. The Panthers knocked down 6-of-11 from 3-point range before the break, with Hollowell and Thomas each making three.
Crider started to heat up for the Panthers midway through the second half, scoring nine-straight Georgia State points, giving the home team a 50-46 lead with 10:46 to play.
Leading 51-50 with 8:50 to play, Hollowell went on a 6-0 run to give the Panthers a 57-50 lead with 5:05 to play. Hollowell hit a jumper followed by four-straight free throws to give GSU its biggest lead of the game.
Old Dominion closed it to two on a pair of free throws by Freeman with 1:50 to play, but never got any closer as the Panthers went 6-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch, including four from redshirt-sophomore Isaiah Williams.
Williams finished with five points and five assists in just 17 minutes. The Panthers finished the game 23-of-30 from the line and shot 46.3 percent for the game.
Senior T.J. Shipes got the start and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. The Panthers held a 30-28 rebounding advantage despite being outsized in the paint.
The two teams finished with 13 lead changes, but 3-point shooting proved to be the difference as the Monarchs knocked down just 1-of-12.
Georgia State will return to the road to face Southern Miss on Dec. 19 at 5 p.m. ET in Hattiesburg, Miss. The game will air live on the American Sports Network.
