1 of 8
Jalen Thomas Jalen Thomas
Jalen Thomas
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Justin Roberts Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Evan Johnson Evan Johnson
Evan Johnson
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Kane Williams Kane Williams
Kane Williams
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Evan Johnson Evan Johnson
Evan Johnson
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Jalen Thomas Jalen Thomas
Jalen Thomas
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Jalen Thomas Jalen Thomas
Jalen Thomas
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
Justin Roberts Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts
Photo Credit: Brad Puckett/South Alabama Athletics
82
Winner Georgia St. GSU 14-5,8-4 Sun Bel
73
South Alabama USA 16-10,10-7 Sun B
Winner
Georgia St. GSU
14-5,8-4 Sun Bel
82
Final
73
South Alabama USA
16-10,10-7 Sun B
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Georgia St. GSU 40 42 82
South Alabama USA 31 42 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Kings of the East: Panthers Top South Alabama 83-74

MOBILE, Ala.-Georgia State won for the sixth-straight time with an 82-73 victory over South Alabama on Saturday night at the Mitchell Center to earn the No. 1 seed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference heading into next week's conference tournament.

Defending Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week Jalen Thomas recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, going 8-of-14 from the floor and blocking three shots.

Georgia State (14-5, 8-4 Sun Belt) extended its season-long best winning streak and finished the regular season for the sixth time in the last eight years in the top two in the Sun Belt Conference standings.

Despite 30 points from John Pettway, South Alabama (16-10, 10-7 Sun Belt) lost for a second-straight night to the Panthers and after entering the series leading the East Division, will drop to the No. 3-seed in the upcoming championship after Coastal Carolina moved into the No. 2 spot.

All five Panther starters finished in double figures as junior Justin Roberts scored 16 points and dished out five assists, while senior Corey Allen added 15 points while knocking down three 3-pointers. Allen has made at least three 3-pointers in a game 12 times in 19 games this season.

After missing most of the first half due to foul trouble, redshirt-junior Eliel Nsoseme just missed a fifth double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Senior Kane Williams rounded out the starters adding 13 points on just 5-of-7 shooting.

Georgia State rushed out to a quick 10-4 lead following a jumper by Thomas four minutes into the game.

South Alabama tied the game 17-17 on a 3-pointer by Kayo Goncalves with 10:29 to play, but the Jaguars could not take the lead and just minutes later the Panthers used a 6-0 run to take a 28-19 lead with 6:35 to play in the first half.

Another 6-0 run by the Panthers gave Georgia State a 36-23 lead following a jumper in the paint by Roberts.

Georgia State went into the locker room with a 40-31 lead as Thomas just missed his double-double before the break, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes as fellow big man Eliel Nsoseme was held to just seven minutes after picking up two early fouls.

The Panthers pushed the lead to as many as 19, 59-40, with 13:35 to play following a lay-up and free throw by Williams.

However, South Alabama started to chip into the Panthers lead and following a 6-0 run, the deficit was cut to 59-46 with just under 12 minutes remaining. The Jaguars closed to within 10 points with 9:24 to play before a 3-pointer by Roberts from the corner.

South Alabama continued to get closer and got as close as six, 79-73, following a 3-pointer from Michael Flowers, but the Panthers made their free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Ryan Boyce came off the bench to score seven points for the Panthers who outrebounded the Jaguars 40-29. Georgia State finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, while holding South Alabama to just 5-of-22 from 3-point range.

Game Highlights
• Georgia State, the most successful team in the Sun Belt since returning to the league for the 2013-14 season, won its 98th league game during that time on Saturday night.
• Georgia State improved to 19-16 all-time against South Alabama and has now won 15 of the last 18 games in the series.
• Georgia State's 14-5 mark is tied for the second-best 18-game start in program history.
• Kane Williams finished the game with 13 points and now has 1,196 for his career, moving ahead of Thomas Terrell for 13th on GSU's all-time scoring list. He is now just 16 points shy of Kevin Morris for 12th on the all-time list.
• Since returning to the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Georgia State has finished in the top two of the final regular season conference standings six times in eight seasons.
• During that same time, GSU has won more games (167) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.
 
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