ATLANTA --Lucas Taylor scored 22 points, but the Georgia State men's basketball team fell to Troy 78-74 Saturday at the GSU Convocation Center.
Taylor added three rebounds and two blocks to his 22-point game to lead the Panthers (9-13, 4-7). Jay'Den Turner had 15 points, three rebounds and two steals, Dwon Odom chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Leslie Nkereuwem added 0 points and eight rebounds.
Georgia State kept it close in the first period, but entered halftime down 36-33.
Troy (15-8, 9-2), the second-place team in the Sun Belt, kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 70-61 advantage before Georgia State went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Turner's three, to shrink the deficit to 70-66 with 2:35 to go in the contest, but the Panthers were unable to get closer.Â
Troy outrebounded Georgia State 48-32, including 20 offensive rebounds, and that proved to be the difference.
"Our guys really, really competed, but you cannot give up 20 offensive rebounds. Those extra possessions that we gave them absolutely killed us," head coach Jonas Hayes said.Â
"If you give a team like Troy that many extra possessions, you are stacking the deck against yourselves. You can't do that.
Our first-shot field goal percentage defense is actually decent, but the possession is not over until you get a defensive rebound, and we've got to get that.
"We do not believe in moral victories," Hayes continued. "We're going to get back to the lab and we will become the program that this institution deserves. We are under construction."Â
Game Notes
» Lucas Taylor led the Panthers with a game-high 22 points, the fourth 20-point game of the season for GSU's leading scorer.
» Georgia State got a game-high eight rebounds from Leslie Nkereuwem.
» Dwon Odom scored the 1,000th point of his career.
Georgia State's next game is Wednesday at Louisiana, and then the Panthers return home to host Miami (Ohio) in the Sun Belt-MAC Challenge next Saturday at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit GeorgiaStateSports.com/tix.
