Late Run Not Enough as Panthers Fall to South Alabama 70-67

Box Score ATLANTA-Playing with only seven scholarship players due to COVID-19 protocols, Georgia State fell to South Alabama 70-67 on Tuesday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.

Georgia State (8-5, 2-4 Sun Belt) trailed by 12 with just over five minutes to play, but a 12-0 run tied the game 65-65 with 1:40 to play. Unfortunately, the Panthers missed an opportunity to take the lead a possession later and South Alabama (12-8, 6-5 Sun Belt) won for the fourth-straight time while snapping a five-game losing streak to GSU.

After shooting 50.0 percent from the floor in the first half, the Panthers managed to go just 11-of-29 in the second half, most coming in the final five minutes, and just 1-of-11 from 3-point range.

The Panthers were led by redshirt-junior Eliel Nsoseme who just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, going 8-of-10 from the floor with three blocked shots.

Junior Justin Roberts added 15 points and five rebounds for GSU, while senior Corey Allen finished in double figures with 12. Senior Kane Williams filled up the box score with eight points, seven rebounds, and five assists, but turned the ball over seven times and managed to go just 2-of-15 from the floor.

South Alabama was led by Sam Iorio who scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Michael Flowers scored 17 and Tyreke Locure added 16.

Georgia State got off to a quick start taking an 8-0 lead just minutes into the game as Nsoseme dominated the paint scoring six of the eight.

South Alabama quickly game back and tied the game at 10 and led by as many as three with just under 10 minutes to play before the Panthers used an 8-0 run to lead 23-18 with 7:15 to play in the half.

Freshman Evan Johnson knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 28-23 with 6:14 to play. Johnson finished the game with eight points off the bench.

The Jaguars cut the deficit to one three times but could not get over the hump as the Panthers went into the locker room with a 37-33 lead outrebounding the Jaguars 19-15.

South Alabama used an early 10-0 run to take a 49-44 lead five minutes into the second half and were able to hold the lead until the Panthers tied it up with under two minutes to play.

The Jaguars went ahead 65-53 following a pair of Flowers' free throws before the Panthers went on a dominating run to tie the game 65-65 with 1:41 to play.

Trailing by three after a John Pettway dunk with seven seconds to play, a last second 3-pointer by Williams was off the mark as the Jaguars escaped with the win.

Game Highlights
• South Alabama, originally scheduled to play two games in Atlanta last month, took the first of three games between the two programs in February. The schools will close out the regular season in Mobile Feb. 26-27.
• Georgia State saw its five game-winning streak to the Jaguars snapped, however, the Panthers have still won 13 of the last 16 in the series.
• The Panthers outrebounded the Jaguars 38-32, but were on the wrong end of the turnover battle (15-10).

Georgia State will remain at home and host in-state rival Georgia Southern on Thursday at 6 p.m., at the GSU Sports Arena.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#1 Eliel Nsoseme: F; 6' 9"; Redshirt Junior

#2 Justin Roberts: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#12 Kane Williams: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#0 Evan Johnson: G; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#1 Eliel Nsoseme
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#2 Justin Roberts
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#12 Kane Williams
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#0 Evan Johnson
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: G