Championship Game Bound: Panthers Tops Louisiana 84-73 in SBC Semifinals

Box Score PENSACOLA, Fla.-Eliel Nsoseme recorded a second-straight double-double and Georgia State held Louisiana without a point for more than five minutes near the end of the game to earn an 84-73 win and advance to the Sun Belt Conference Championship game on Monday night at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Nsoseme finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, going 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to pick up his sixth double-double of the season.

Georgia State (16-5) won for the eighth-straight time and will now look for a third-straight conference tournament title after last year's championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Panthers will play the winner of the second semifinal between Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and WRAS-FM 88.5.

Louisiana (17-9) managed to overcome a 17 point halftime deficit keyed by Cedric Russell who scored 20 points and Mylik Wilson who finished with 19, however, after tying the game at 71-71 with 6:32 to play, went scoreless until just under 50 seconds remaining in the game.

Senior Corey Allen led all scorers with 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Ryan Boyce came off the bench to score 13 points. Senior Kane Williams, who set the school record for career free throws during the game, finished with 11 points and five assists, while sophomore Jalen Thomas added 10 points and six rebounds.

A Boyce jumper from the lane gave the Panthers an early 17-8 lead with 12:30 to play in the first half. It was part of a stretch where Georgia State made eight-straight field goal attempts.

Nsoseme continued his hot play from Saturday night and his lay-up with 10:02 to play gave the Panthers a 26-15 lead, causing Louisiana to call its first timeout.

Allen, who finished the first half with 18 points, knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:59 to play, giving Georgia State a 34-20 lead. Late in the half, he knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the start of an 8-0 Panther run, that gave Georgia State a 50-33 lead with 1:10 to play.

The Panthers went into the locker room with a 52-35 lead after shooting 52.6 percent from the floor, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and turning the ball over just three times.

However, Louisiana opened the second half on an 11-1 run to cut Georgia State's lead to 53-46 with 16:38 to play. The Ragin' Cajuns continued to chip into the lead before finally tying the game on a Gueye 3-pointer with 7:28 to play.

With Georgia State leading 72-71 following a Nsoseme free throw, Louisiana had three-straight possessions where they could have taken the lead, but two missed free throws and two turnovers allowed the Panthers to score on back-to-back possessions and go back ahead 78-71 with 3:07 to play.

The Panthers went on a 12-0 run and pushed the lead to 83-71 with 1:01 to play before a lay-up by Wilson finally ended Louisiana's drought.

Georgia State arguably won the game at the free throw line going 22-of-30, while Louisiana managed to go just 6-of-10 from the free throw line.

Game Highlights
• Georgia State entered the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as a No. 1-seed for the sixth time. The Panthers have won three championships as a No. 1-seed and are now 12-2 in that spot.
• The Panthers will play in a third-straight Sun Belt Conference tournament title game and the fifth time in the last seven years.
• Georgia State improved to 3-1 against Louisiana in conference tournament games and have now won three-straight against the Ragin' Cajuns.
• GSU is 33-33 all-time in conference tournaments, but 10-4 since returning to the Sun Belt for the 2013-14 season.
• Georgia State is 10-6 all-time in conference championships in the state of Florida, winning a conference championship in 1991 in DeLand which led to the Panthers' first NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Georgia State's 16-5 mark is the second-best 21-game start in program history, only behind the 18-3 start of 2000-01.
• Senior Kane Williams now has 536 free throw attempts in his career, moving ahead of the previous record older Terrence Brandon.
• Georgia State has already secured an eighth-straight winning season for the first time in program history.
• Williams, who scored 11 points, now has 1,209 for his career, three shy of Kevin Morris for 12th and five shy of Zavian Smith for 11th on GSU's all-time list.
• Williams has been a part of 83 wins in his four years, tied for the sixth-best four-year stretch in program history. He is four wins shy of the school record of 87.
• 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 (169) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.

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Players Mentioned

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

#32 Ryan Boyce: G; 6' 6"; Sophomore

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#32 Ryan Boyce
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G

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

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

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