Georgia State worked its magic as it has many time this season as Manny Atkins hit a game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to defeat the University of Louisiana atLafayette 80-77 Saturday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
A crowd of 2,890, the largest this season and 12th-largest in school history, witnessed yet again another Georgia State come from behind game ending with a buzzer-beater.
Georgia State’s magic number went down to one for clinching at least a share of the regular season title and a top two seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
Georgia State had a nine-point lead with 1:45 left in the game, but the Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 77 with 30 seconds left.
Manny Atkins hit the game-winning shot to put the Panthers over the Ragin’ Cajuns
Senior Ryan Harrow took the ball down court running the clock down before passing it to an open Atkins who made the 3-pointer stopping the clock with less than a second left and winning the game.
“I knew they [were] going to help out,” Atkins said on Louisiana-Lafayette’s defense on the play explaining how one of the guards was drawn to Harrow. “The rim opened up so much, I was like, ‘I gotta make it,’ and it was a tough shot, and I knocked it down.”
“[Harrow’s] got shooters all around him,” Head Coach Ron Hunter said explaining the play, “if they stay on the shooters, [Harrow] lay[s] it up. If somebody cheats, he finds the shooter, and he finds the right guys.”
“We ran that same play earlier in the year…against FIU,” Hunter said adding that Harrow forced the shot in that game. “It just is showing how much we’ve grown because [Harrow] trusted his teammate [Atkins].”
Hunter said while Atkins made the shot, his bench-player Marcus Crider was “the man” of the night.
Marcus Crider put life in the crowd after Georgia State was trailing by as many as 12 in the game.
Crider had three-consecutive put-backs early in the second half including a dunk to tie the game at 77 and two more shots to put the Panthers ahead.
Crider, a sophomore forward from the bench, has scored career-high points in his last two games finishing Saturday with 12 points. He also had six rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Crider said that nothing has changed for him in the past few nights except “more opportunities to do what I know what to do,” he said.
“Just go out there and play basketball with a chip on you shoulder like every possession is your last,” Crider added.
Louisiana-Lafayette opened the game with two 3-pointers from Bryant Mbamala followed by a three from Shawn Long to put the Ragin’ Cajuns on a game-opening run.
“That was the first time we’ve ever played him with him shooting jump shots like that,” Crider said. “Nobody could ever expected him to come out and make 3-for-3…I want to call that shooter’s luck because he will never do that again to us.”
Georgia State scored 50 points in the second half starting it with a 24-4 run after trailing by eight at halftime.
After only grabbing 10 rebounds in the first half, three of which were offensive, Georgia State finished with 30 rebounds getting seven offensive rebounds in the second half limiting the Ragin’ Cajuns second chance points. Louisiana-Lafayette had 35 rebounds int he game.
Harrow finished with 18 points for the Panthers, Devonta White with 17 and R.J. Hunter 14.
Long scored 22 points for Louisiana-Lafayette with 15 of them coming from the first half.
Georgia State improved to 20-7, 13-1 in the Sun Belt. Georgia State has won 17 of its last 18 games, the longest streak in school history.
The Panthers go on the road for three-consecutive games starting Thursday before their final home game of the season on March 8.
