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.
| 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 |
