What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State saw its 15 game home court and four game overall winning streaks snapped Saturday in an 87-54 loss to UL Lafayette.
* Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Shawn Long led the Ragin' Cajuns with 23 points and 18 rebounds.
* Georgia State will conclude a five-game home-stand on Tuesday hosting Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.
ATLANTA-Georgia State saw its 15-game home-court winning streak come to an end as UL Lafayette earned an 87-54 win over the Panthers on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena. It marked just the second loss at home for Georgia State since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Senior Kevin Ware led Georgia State (11-4, 4-2 Sun Belt) with 19 points and nine rebounds, just missing his first career double-double. The 15-game win streak which dated back to a double overtime loss to Texas State last season, is the third-longest in program history.
Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Shawn Long finished with a double-double of 23 points and 18 rebounds for UL Lafayette (7-8, 3-3 Sun Belt) which snapped the Panthers four-game winning streak.
The 33 point loss was the worst in the Ron Hunter era and only third loss of 20-plus points since his arrival at Georgia State.
It was just the eighth loss in 44 Sun Belt games for Georgia State since returning to the league. It also marked just the 17th loss in the last 75 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013.
Redshirt-junior Jeremy Hollowell added 14 points as the only other Panther in double figures.
“We got beat in every way today and that is not something we are used to in this building,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “They beat us in every aspect of the game and that really is all there is to it.”
Leading 7-6 early, Georgia State used a 7-0 run to quickly take a 14-6 lead with 12:20 to go in the first half as Hollowell scored eight of the first 12 points for the Panthers.
However, the Ragin' Cajuns stormed back to take a 20-18 lead with 6:28 remaining, spurred by a 10-0 run.
Georgia State regained the lead 21-20 on a free throw by Ware before UL Lafayette took control and went into the locker room leading 35-31. The Panthers shot 55 percent in the first half and held ULL to just 35 percent, but the Ragin' Cajuns knocked down six 3-pointers and outrebounded the Panthers 21-10, including an 11-0 offense board total.
The second half was all UL Lafayette which outscored the Panthers 52-23 after the break. The Ragin' Cajuns shot 64.3 percent after the break and finished the game 29-of-59, going 11-of-27 from 3-point range, while outrebounding the Panthers 38-21, including a 16-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Kasey Shepherd came off the bench to scored 19 points for ULL, while Hayward Register added 15 on 4-of-7 3-pointers.
Georgia State will conclude its five-game home-stand facing in-state rival Georgia Southern on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear black for the 'black out' as the Panthers will done their black uniforms. Tickets for that game are available by calling 404-413-4020 or by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com.
