Men’s basketball bounces back with victory against South Alabama

After a disappointing loss to in-state rival Georgia Southern, Georgia State men’s basketball emerged victorious on Saturday on the road against the South Alabama Jaguars by a final score of 65-54. The Panthers are now 16-8 on the season and 9-4 in the conference.

First Half

Fifteen minutes into play, the Panthers had their first lead of the game with a two-point jumper by Curtis Washington. About three minutes later, two free throws by Hunter made it 4-0.

Senior South Alabama forward Dionte Ferguson got his team on the board with a layup that came off an offensive rebound.

With the score at 6-4, two-pointers from Ware and Hunter extended the Georgia State lead to 10-4 before both teams traded threes making the score 13-7.

Midway through the first half, that lead became 15-7 after a dunk by Washington. A two-pointer by Ryann Green extended the Panthers’ run 7-0 and the lead 17-7.

Georgia State maintained its ten-point advantage at 19-9. At the 5:18 mark in the first half, Ferguson was fouled by Isaiah Dennis, but only made one of two from the line. Markus Crider increased his point output to four with a layup giving the Panthers a 21-10 lead.

Freshman South Alabama guard Taishaun Johnson later came up with a steal on Hunter that led to a foul and Johnson making a pair of free throws making it 21-12. That lead was extended to 24-12 as Hunter increased his point output to ten.

A layup from junior guard Barrington Stevens and a three from Johnson got the Jaguars within seven at 24-17. Johnson fouled Hunter placing him at the line as he made both free throws giving the Panthers a 26-24 lead going into halftime.

Second Half

Both teams traded the first two points as the Panthers led 28-26 before a three by Johnson increased his point total to 13 and gave South Alabama a 29-28 lead.

Three more from Ferguson extended the Jaguars’ lead to 32-28.

South Alabama maintained its four-point lead at 34-30. Georgia State would then go on an 11-0 run that saw four points by Crider, three from Hunter and two each by Ware and T.J. Shipes giving the Panthers a 41-34 lead.

Four more points by Williams and three by Johnson equaled a 6-0 run tying the score at 41. After a Ware layup, freshman forward Abdul Lewis made only one of two from the line after a foul. This made the score 43-42.

Crider’s ensuing dunk off Hunter’s fifth assist placed the Panthers ahead by a score of 45-42 before a Stevens three tied it at 45.

The ensuing Georgia State possession concluded in a Ware layup giving the Panthers a 47-45 lead.

Two-pointers by Hunter and Crider gave Georgia State a lead of 51-46. This was followed by a layup from Stevens cutting the Jaguars deficit to 51-48 before a three by Green made it a six-point ball game at 54-48 with just over six minutes to play.

A steal from Johnson by Green led to Ware increasing his point total to 12 and the Panthers’ lead to 56-48. Jalen Brown then fouled Johnson, which led to him making one of two free throws making the score 56-49.

Georgia State would maintain its seven-point advantage with under three minutes to play.

Green, Ware and Hunter each made a pair of free throws from the foul line to seal a 65-54 victory for Georgia State.

The Panthers’ next game will be on Saturday on the road at Texas State. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at noon.

Final Stats
Georgia State South Alabama
Hunter: 19 points, 7-7 free throws Ware: 15 points, 6-13 shooting
Johnson: 17 points, 6-7 free throws Ferguson: 12 points, 4-6 free throws