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Ja'Heim Hudson

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Jalen Thomas

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Corey Allen

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Corey Allen

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Evan Johnson

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Evan Johnson

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Justin Roberts

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Justin Roberts

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Kane Williams

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Eliel Nsoseme

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Eliel Nsoseme

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Corey Allen

Photo Credit: Daniel Wilson

Men's Basketball 1/6/2022 9:46:00 PM

Furious Rally Falls Short as UTA Tops Panthers 70-63

Box Score ATLANTA-A furious Georgia State rally in the final five minutes fell just short as the Panthers fell to UT Arlington 70-63 in Sun Belt Conference opener on Thursday night at the GSU Sports Arena.

Georgia State (6-6, 0-1 Sun Belt) trailed by 15 points with 5:34 to play before cutting the UT Arlington (7-7, 3-0 Sun Belt) lead to just three points following a 3-pointer by senior Justin Roberts with 23.1 seconds to play.

Georgia State was returning to the court for the first time since a Dec. 21 loss at Georgia Tech following a pair of games were cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols last week. The Panthers shot just 39.7 percent from the floor and were outrebounded by UT Arlington 51-32.

The Panthers were led by senior Corey Allen who scored 15 points and dished out seven assists, while junior Jalen Thomas just missed his third-career double-double with seven points and 12 rebounds.

Senior Eliel Nsoseme returned to action for the first time this season and came off the bench to score 10 points and grab seven rebounds. He was one of four Panthers in double figures, however GSU managed to go just 6-of-24 from 3-point range and 3-of-8 from the free throw line.

UTA remained undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play as Patrick Mwamba just missed a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds. David Azore scored a team-high 17 points, while Nicholas Elame also just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

An early 8-0 run gave the Panthers a 16-12 lead with 12:06 to play. It was Georgia State's largest lead of the opening half which matched UTA's largest lead of the half which 27-23 with 4:21 to play before a putback by Thomas.

Allen sent the Panthers into the locker room with the 32-31 lead knocking down a 3-pointer from the corner with under 10 seconds to play.

In a unique half, neither team made a free throw as the two teams combined to take just one.

UTA scored 10 of the first 13 points of the second half to take a 41-35 lead with 15:38 to play.

Holding Georgia State scoreless for more than seven and a half minutes, the Mavericks went on an 13-0 run to take a 59-44 lead with 5:34 to play before the Panthers made one final push.

Georgia State followed with an 8-0 run to cut the Mavericks lead to 59-52 with 2:42 to play following a Nsoseme jumper.

The Panthers still trailed by 10 with 2:05 to play before another Nsoseme jumper, a made jumper by Justin Roberts and a Nsoseme dunk cut the deficit to four with 44 seconds remaining.

The Mavericks went 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds to secure the win.

Game Notes

Kane Williams played in his 132^nd career game tying Jeff Thomas (2015-19) for the most played in school history.
Georgia State saw its eight-game home court winning streak snapped. It was tied for the sixth-longest in program history.
The Panthers still leads the all-time series with the Mavericks 10-9, but have now lost the last two to UTA.
Georgia State has a 47-17 record in the month of January since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Kane Williams moved into sixth place on GSU's all-time scoring list with 1,377 career points and ahead of Chavelo Holmes.

Georgia State will return to action at South Alabama on Jan. 13 for a game live on ESPN2 and WRAS-FM 88.5. The Panthers game this Saturday with Texas State has been cancelled due to COVID issues within the Bobcat program.

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Players Mentioned

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

Eliel Nsoseme: F; 6' 9"; Junior

#2 Justin Roberts: G; 5' 11"; Redshirt 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

Eliel Nsoseme
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F

#2 Justin Roberts
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

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

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