ATLANTA --The Georgia State men's basketball team got a 15-point performance from the bench, but fell 52-50 to the Appalachian State Mountaineers at home Thursday.

"We knew it was going to be a physical battle, and we knew that App State would come in here with a level of desperation and physicality." Head coach Jonas Hayes said. "But I thought we defended really well and im really proud of our guys' effort and toughness tonight." 

Jelani Hamilton led the Panthers (5-12, 2-3) with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. Christian Beam added seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks off the bench and Micah Tucker chipped in as well with six points.

Georgia State did a great job disrupting Appalachian State shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Beam's two rejections led the way individually for the Panthers.

How It Happened

After falling behind 2-0, Georgia State went on a 7-0 run with 17:37 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Hamilton, to take a 7-2 lead. The Panthers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 25-23 advantage. Georgia State got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 12 of its 25 total points.

Appalachian State proceeded to take a 35-34 lead before Georgia State went on a 7-0 run to seize a 41-35 lead with 8:52 to go in the contest. Appalachian State re-asserted control, outscoring the Panthers 17-9 the rest of the way to hand Georgia State the 52-50 loss. Georgia State made the most of four offensive rebounds to tack on five second chance points out of 25 total in the period.

Game Notes

» The Panthers held the Mountaineers to only 32.8 percent shooting from the field.
» The Georgia State bench made an impact by adding 15 points to its scoring output.
» The Panthers were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying five blocks as a team.
» Jelani Hamilton led the Panthers with a game-high 17 points.
» Georgia State got a team-high nine rebounds from Christian Beam.

The Panthers look to bounce back against Marshall on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:00 p.m.