What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State snapped a three-game losing streak and earned an impressive 67-51 win over Texas State on Monday night.
* Redshirt-sophomore Devin Mitchell came off the bench to scored 14 points, knocking down three 3-pointers.
* The Panthers will conclude the regular season hosting in-state rival Georgia Southern on March 4 at 2:15 p.m.
ATLANTA-Led by 18 points from D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State earned an impressive and important 67-51 win over Texas State on Monday night at the GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers shot 69.2 percent in the second half, missing just one two-point field goal.
Georgia State (17-10, 10-5 Sun Belt) snapped a three-game losing streak, the last two of which were one point losses at the buzzer. It also put the Panthers in prime position for a first round bye in the conference tournament with three games to play.
Simonds finished the game going 7-of-11 from the floor while senior Jeremy Hollowell did the same, finishing with 16 points and five rebounds.
Redshirt-sophomore Devin Mitchell came off the bench to score 14 points, just one shy of a career-high, knocking down three 3-pointers. Sophomore Jeff Thomas added nine points as Georgia State's bench scored 25 on the night.
Texas State (15-11, 8-6 Sun Belt) had three players score in double figures, led by Nijal Pearson who finished with 17 points and five rebounds.
“We had lost three games and all three of them inside of 50 seconds,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Mentally we had been a mess the last 48 hours. This team needed a win. When we don't turn the ball over and we make shots the way we can, we are a tough team to beat. That was a quality win tonight.”
Georgia State got off to a slow started and trailed 10-5 with 13:39 remaining before finally taking its first lead of the game, 13-12, with 10:25 left in the opening half.
As part of a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Mitchell, Georgia State pushed its lead to 16-12 with 9:32 to play in the first half.
Texas State immediately responded with an 8-0 run to build a 22-18 lead with 3:41 remaining, as the Panthers were held scoreless for nearly five minutes.
The Panthers finished the opening half on a 6-0 run and went into the locker room leading 24-22. Georgia State was held to just 40.9 percent shooting, but limited the Bobcats to 1-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and forced seven turnovers to lead at the midway point.
After a slow start in the first half, Georgia State made five of its first seven shots to start the second half, as Simonds scored six-straight GSU points at one point to give the Panthers a 40-34 lead with 13:31 to play.
Leading 41-37, Georgia State used a 10-0 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Mitchell, to take a 51-37 lead with 10:37 remaining.
A 7-0 run, capped by a Hollowell 3-pointer with 4:36 to play, gave Georgia State a 58-43 lead that proved to be too much for the Bobcats to overcome.
With the win, senior Isaiah Dennis has now been a part of 83 wins in his four years, tied for the second-most in program history and just four shy of the all-time best four-year mark in school history.
The Panthers finished the game shooting 56.3 percent while turning the ball over just 10 times.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury added 12 points for Texas State, while Ojai Black scored 10. Texas State made just 4-of-16 from 3-point range on the night.
Georgia State will open its final regular season road trip at Little Rock on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. It is the first of two games in Arkansas as the Panthers will remain on the road and face Arkansas State on Feb. 27 at 8 p.m.
