1 of 4
Ja'Heim Hudson Ja'Heim Hudson
Ja'Heim Hudson
Photo Credit: Louisiana Athletics
Justin Roberts Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts
Photo Credit: Louisiana Athletics
Corey Allen Corey Allen
Corey Allen
Photo Credit: Louisiana Athletics
Kane Williams Kane Williams
Kane Williams
Photo Credit: Louisiana Athletics
68
Winner Georgia St. GSU 7-9,1-4 Sun Belt
64
Louisiana LA 9-9,4-4 Sun Belt
Winner
Georgia St. GSU
7-9,1-4 Sun Belt
68
Final
64
Louisiana LA
9-9,4-4 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Georgia St. GSU 35 33 68
Louisiana LA 34 30 64

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Panthers Top Louisiana 68-64; Lanier Earns 100th Career Win

LAFAYETTE, La.-Senior Justin Roberts hit a huge jumper and knocked down two free throws in the final seconds to give the Georgia State men's basketball team a 68-64 win over Louisiana on Thursday night at the Cajundome.

Georgia State (7-9, 1-4 Sun Belt) snapped a five-game losing streak while giving head coach Rob Lanier the 100th win of his career.

Roberts finished the game with 12 points, but his jumper in the lane with 49.8 seconds to play gave the Panthers a 66-63 lead. After forcing a turnover, Roberts was fouled and knocked down two free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining to secure the win.

Senior Kane Williams and junior Jalen Thomas led the Panthers with 14 points a piece. Williams, who moved into a tie with Malik Benlevi and R.J. Hunter with 98 career starts, third-most in school history, went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Thomas, who came off the bench for the first time this year, finished with a season high in points while going 7-of-10 from the floor.

Louisiana (9-9, 4-4 Sun Belt) was held without a field goal over the final 6:23 of the game and lost to Georgia State for the ninth time in the last 11 games. The Ragin' Cajuns knocked down a season-best 12-of-22 from 3-point range but turned the ball over 20 times including a key one in the final 10 seconds which led to the Roberts free throws.

The Ragin' Cajuns were led by Kentrell Garnett who scored 17 points while going 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Louisiana managed to go just 6-of-13 from the free throw line, while Georgia State went 12-of-15.

After Louisiana score the first basket of the game, Georgia State responded with a 10-0 run as Williams knocked down three free throws and a 3-pointer during the spurt.

The Ragin' Cajuns responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game seven minutes into play. Over the next 13 minutes of the half, the teams were tied six times and traded the lead seven times.

Georgia State went into the locker room with a 35-34 lead after forcing Louisiana into nine turnovers which led to nine points.

A jumper by Thomas pushed the Georgia State lead to 42-37 just four minutes into the second half, but it was short lived as a 3-pointer by Michael Thomas gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 46-44 lead with 13:47 to play.

A 3-pointer by Allen got Georgia State the lead back, 53-51, midway thru the second half. Just minutes later, Louisiana responded with a 10-0 run to take a 62-57 lead with just 6:23 to play. It would be the Ragin' Cajuns last field goal of the game.

The Panthers scored the next five points capped by a Thomas lay-up to tie the game with 3:09 to play give Georgia State the final of 17 lead changes in the game.

Senior Corey Allen added 11 points for Georgia State, while fellow senior Eliel Nsoseme scored five points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Collin Moore came off the bench for his best game of the year scoring eight points in just 12 minutes of action.

Game Notes
• Georgia State now leads the all-time series with Louisiana 15-7.
• The Panthers have won nine of the last 11 games in the series and snapped a two-game losing streak in Lafayette.
• Georgia State snapped a five-game overall losing streak which was the Panthers longest since the 2012-13 season.
• GSU has combined to go 18-8 in the state of Louisiana since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
• GSU has won 99 regular season Sun Belt games since the start of the 2013-14 season, the most in the league, while finishing in the top two of the final regular season conference standings six times in eight seasons.
• Georgia State has a 48-20 (.706) record in the month of January since the start of the 2013-14 season.
• Since 2013-14, GSU has won more games (176) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.
 
Georgia State will remain on the road to face ULM in Monroe on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN+ and the GSU Mobile App.

 
Print Friendly Version