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Kane Williams

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

President M. Brian Blake

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Rob Lanier

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Kane Williams

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Nelson Phillips

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Kane Williams

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Corey Allen

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Corey Allen

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Bench

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Bench

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Kane Williams

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Evan Johnson

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Men's Basketball 12/22/2021 12:11:00 AM

Round 2 of Downtown vs. Midtown Goes to Georgia Tech, 72-62, in OT

Box Score ATLANTA-Georgia State overcame a 15-point first half deficit and had a shot to win at the end of regulation before falling to Georgia Tech 72-62 in overtime on Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.

Senior Corey Allen led Georgia State (6-5) with 15 points, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation was just off the mark. In overtime, Georgia Tech (6-5) scored the first nine points which proved too much for the Panthers to overcome. It marked the second-straight year the game between the two in-city foes went to overtime.

Georgia State was held to just 28.8 percent shooting from the floor but overcame that by forcing Georgia Tech into 23 turnovers which led to 18 Panther points.

Jordan Usher finished with a double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds for Georgia Tech, while Kyle Sturdivant came off the bench to score 12 points.

Senior Kane Williams added 13 points for Georgia State, while redshirt-sophomore Nelson Phillips added 11. Junior Jalen Thomas just missed a second-straight double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.

Georgia Tech raced out to an early 19-11 lead while holding the Panthers scoreless for more than five minutes.

The Yellow Jacket lead reached as many as 15, 35-20, with 3:48 remaining, before Georgia State held Tech without a field goal the final 2:34 of the half. Over that same time, the Panthers used an 8-0 run capped by an Allen 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to go into the locker room trailing 40-33 despite shooting just 33.3 percent.

Phillips took over the game early in the second half for the Panthers. The redshirt-junior's 3-pointer with 18:53 to play cut Georgia Tech's lead to 42-36.

Just minutes later, Phillips put-back dunk cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 44-42 with 12:33 remaining.

A corner jumper by Allen with 10:50 to play gave Georgia State its first lead of the game, 47-46. It was part of a 10-0 run that gave the Panthers a 52-46 lead with just under eight minutes to play. During the run the Yellow Jackets were held scoreless for nearly five minutes.

Tech rallied getting as close as one point twice with under two minutes to play before Usher knocked down two free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining.

In overtime the Yellow Jackets scored the first nine points, including seven by Usher, and Georgia State was never able to recover.

Georgia State went 15-of-19 from the floor but went just 7-of-22 from 3-point range. After Tech shot 53.8 percent in the first half, the Yellow Jackets went just 6-of-25 from the floor and 1-of-8 from 3-point range in the second half.

Game Notes

This marked the second game of a three-game series that will conclude in the new GSU Convocation Center next season.
This was the Panthers fourth matchup with an in-state opponent in non-conference play. Georgia State is now 2-2 in those games.
Kane Williams became the first player in program history to attempt 600 career free throws. Going 9-of-9 tonight, he now has 444 made free throws (608 attempts), trailing only R.J. Hunter's school record of 448 made free throws.
Williams is current in 7th on GSU's all-time scoring list with 1,367 career points. He is currently eight points behind Chavelo Holmes for sixth and is 452 points behind R.J. Hunter's school record of 1,819.

Georgia State will open Sun Belt Conference play on Dec. 30, at Arkansas State. Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET, and will air on ESPN and WRAS-FM 88.5.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

#10 Nelson Phillips: G; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#25 Jalen Thomas: F; 6' 10"; Freshman

#12 Kane Williams: G; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#10 Nelson Phillips
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: G

#25 Jalen Thomas
: 6' 10"; Freshman
: F

#12 Kane Williams
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G