ATLANTA, Ga -- Jelani Hamilton collected a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Georgia State men's basketball team over the Georgia Southern Eagles 66-64 at home Thursday.

"Our students really showed up tonight, and they made all the difference," Head coach Jonas Hayes said. "I want to give a lot of credit to coach Henry and the Georgia Southern basketball team. They came in here and fought back, but we were able to keep standing. We kept our poise and ended up coming home with a win." 

The Panthers had three players score in double figures, led by Malachi Brown, who had 19 points and two steals. Micah Tucker tacked on 15 points and Hamilton chipped in as well with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Led by Christian Beam's three offensive rebounds, Georgia State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 14 second chance points.

The Georgia State defense held Georgia Southern shooters to only 33.8 percent from the field, including 27.8 percent from three-point range.

How It Happened

After jumping out to a 26-25 advantage, Georgia State went on a 9-0 run with 6:33 left in the first half to increase its lead to 35-25. The Panthers then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 37-27 advantage. Georgia State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 37 points.

The Eagles proceeded to tie things up at 59-59 before Georgia State went on a 5-0 run to seize a 64-59 lead with 13 seconds to go in the contest. The Eagles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Panthers still held on for the 66-64 win. Georgia State made the most of seven offensive rebounds to tack on eight second chance points out of 29 total in the period.
 

Game Notes

» Jelani Hamilton notched a double-double for the Panthers with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
» The Panthers held the Eagles to only 33.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Georgia State had a 45-39 edge on the boards in the win.
» Georgia State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
» Malachi Brown led the Panthers with a game-high 19 points.
» Georgia State got a game-high 10 rebounds from Jelani Hamilton.

Georgia State is back at home against James Madison on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 4:00 p.m..