Box Score ATLANTA-No. 5-seed Georgia Southern used a late second half run to top No. 4-seed Georgia State 81-62 on Wednesday night in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Quarterfinals at the GSU Sports Arena.

Georgia State (19-13) entered the tournament looking to win a third-straight conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight year and fourth time in six years. Instead the season comes to an end just one win shy of a fourth-straight 20-plus win season.

Georgia Southern (20-13) will advance to New Orleans to face No. 1-seed Little Rock in the semifinals of the conference tournament on Saturday.

All-Sun Belt Second Team member Kane Williams led the Panthers with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Georgia State, which entered the night shooting 36.7 percent from 3-point range which was ranked No. 35 in the country, managed to go just 4-of-27 (14.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

Five Eagles finished in double figures led by Quan Jackson who scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. Isaiah Crawley garnered a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

"Obviously disappointed but a lot of credit goes to Georgia Southern as they did a heck of a job and were the better team tonight," head coach Rob Lanier said. "We just didn't have it tonight. This time of year, we didn't improve to the level of the team that we wanted to be."

Georgia Southern rushed out to a quick 15-6 lead on a 3-pointer by Jackson with 15:03 to play in the opening half, but the Panthers immediately responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Corey Allen jumper to tie the game 15-15 with 10:57 remaining.

The Eagles responded an on another Jackson jumper took the lead 24-17 with 8:28 to play. In a game of runs, the Panthers came right back with a 11-3 run and on a lay-up by Damon Wilson took a 28-27 lead with under four minutes to play.

Georgia Southern went back ahead by as many as four before Williams knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Panthers to the locker room trailing by just one, 34-33. Neither team shot well from beyond the arc in the first half as Georgia State went 3-of-13, while Georgia Southern was just 2-of-7.

Georgia State took a 39-38 lead early in the second half on a jumper by Nelson Phillips, but it was short lived as the Eagles went on an 11-1 run and took a 49-40 lead with 11:27 after a Simeon Carter dunk.

After the Panthers cut the deficit to just five, 51-46, with just under 10 minutes to play, Georgia Southern pulled away and led by 20, 69-49, at the under four-minute media timeout.

Wilson, playing in his final game for the Panthers, finished with 10 points and five rebounds as the only other Georgia State player in double figures.

Freshman Jalen Thomas returned to the starting line-up to score eight points, while redshirt-junior Corey Allen came off the bench to add seven.

Ike Smith added 13 points for Georgia Southern which finished the game shooting 46.9 percent and outrebounded the Panthers, 45-32.

Notes:

• Georgia State dropped to 31-33 all-time in conference tournaments, including five titles that sent the Panthers on to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Panthers are 8-4 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since returning to the league in 2013-14.
• With a 3-pointer tonight, Georgia State has made at least one 3-pointer in 780 games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.
• Georgia State will lose seniors Damon Wilson and Chris Clerkley but is expected to return four starters to next year's squad.