In a valiant comeback effort, the Georgia State Panthers edged out the South Alabama Jaguars in a 76-73 thriller. The Panthers trailed for the majority of the game, including at one point trailing by as many as nine points. Despite lagging behind for most of the game, the Panthers managed to go into halftime leading 38-35.
The Jaguars quickly retook the lead in the second half and, despite trailing by three points with 1:35 to go, the Panthers closed out the game on a 6-0 run thanks to two field goals from Kane Williams and two made free-throws from Nelson Phillips.
Corey Allen led the team in scoring with 19 points on 4 of 12 shooting. Kane Williams and Nelson Phillips were tied for second with 15 apiece. Justin Roberts was third with 11 points on 4 of 14 shooting.
As a team, the Panthers shot 42.3% from the field and 25% from three-point range. On the other end of the court, they held the Jaguars to 42.9% shooting from the field and 36.8% shooting from three-point range. The key stat for the game was free throws. The Panthers shot 75.8% from the free-throw line, compared to the Jaguars, who shot just 62.1%.
This win keeps alive the Panthers’ home winning streak, which dates back to last season and extends to 15 straight home wins. Head coach Rob Lanier talked about how impressed he was with the student body coming out to support and encourage the team.
“I want us to get to a point where the student body recognizes that they’ve got some classmates that are serious student-athletes and are about all the right things,” Lanier said. “That they represent this institution with class and hard work and that they come and support them because they are strong representatives of our student body.”
“Those guys know that I believe in them and I trust them, so I’m going to take the good with the bad. I just want the effort to be consistent,” Lanier said. “I thought today, probably more so than any game we’ve played all year, was the first time I felt like our energy level was poor to start the game.”
Overall, Coach Lanier was impressed with his team’s effort during the game and has a high amount of confidence in the rotation that he has. His comments after the game made it clear that he has no plans whatsoever to make any changes to that rotation.
“I like the rotation that we’ve developed. I’m not making those decisions based on statistics,” Lanier said. “What we’re asking [Jalen Thomas and Joe Jones lll] is rebound and defend and anything they do offensively is a bonus.”
Georgia State’s next game will take place Thursday when they travel to face Louisiana at 8:00 P.M. This is their second meeting with the Ragin’ Cajuns this season. The first time they played each other, the Panthers won comfortably 90-52.
