Georgia State men’s basketball got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon from the Sports Arena with a 77-72 victory over Troy. The win gives the Panthers their tenth victory of the season and their third in conference play.
First Half
Georgia State would play this game without Ryan Harrow as he was encountering issues with his foot. The first points of this game came by way of a layup from T.J. Shipes as the Panthers had an early 2-0 lead. Trojans freshman guard Wesley Person placed his team on the board with a three-pointer going ahead 3-2.
Troy maintained their one-point advantage as the score became 5-4 before five consecutive points from R.J. Hunter gave the Panthers a 9-5 edge over Troy.
With an early score of 11-7 with Georgia State in front, the Trojans embarked on a 5-0 run led by Persons to go back in front 12-11. But a pair of three-pointers from Kevin Ware gave the Panthers a 17-12 lead.
Georgia State maintained their five-point lead as the scoreboard read 20-15. A jump shot from Shipes increased their lead to seven and the Panthers’ lead to 22-15. What followed was a 9-0 Trojans scoring streak with seven of the points coming from senior guard Musa Abdul-Aleem. The other two were courtesy of a two-point jump shot by sophomore guard Kelton Ford as Troy went ahead 24-22.
Shortly afterwards, a dunk by Curtis Washington tied it up at 24.
With the two teams tied at 27, Troy junior guard Chris Bilbo placed his team back ahead by three with a made three-point shot. Senior forward Kevin Thomas then fouled Hunter who would make one of two free throws. Bilbo’s fourth and fifth points of the game would put Troy ahead 32-28.
With the score at 34-30 in favor of Troy, Isaiah Dennis then got Georgia State within two at 34-32, but as the halftime period came, the Trojans would lead the Panthers by this margin.
Second Half
A layup from the Panthers’ Ryann Green tied it at 34 before a three-pointer by Abdul-Aleem gave the Trojans a 37-34 lead. Three straight points by Ware then evened the score again at 37.
Troy then went on a 5-0 run that included a three from Person and a two-pointer by Thomas. This placed the Trojans ahead 42-37.
The Trojans would then take a 44-39 lead. Three points each from Hunter and Jalen Brown equaled a 6-0 run for Georgia State and allowed the Panthers to go ahead 45-44.
The Panthers’ lead would be short lived as another three from Abdul-Aleem placed the Trojans back in front, 47-45. Abdul-Aleem then fouled Hunter who made one of two from the free throw line bringing the Panthers within one at 47-46, but Abdul-Aleem made another three expanding the lead for Troy to four at 50-46.
With the score at 52-48 in Troy’s favor, Georgia State answered with a 5-0 run with two more from Hunter and three from Dennis as they went ahead briefly by a score of 53-52.
The Panthers would later have a lead of 55-54. Another three by Abdul-Aleem gave Troy the lead again at 57-55.
The Trojans maintained their two-point lead as the score became 58-56 after Ford made one of two from the line after a foul charged to Dennis. Ford then made his second free throw placing Troy ahead 59-56, but two-pointers from Crider and Ware gave Georgia State a lead of 60-59.
The Panthers would later have a one-point lead of 62-61 before a three-pointer from Person gave the Trojans a 64-62 lead. Two more made free throws from Hunter after being fouled by Bilbo tied it up at 64 before Trojans junior forward John Walton III gave the lead back to his team after making one of two from the line off a foul charged to Crider. Troy would lead at this point 65-64
With the score at 68-67 in Troy’s favor with under three minutes left to play, the Panthers went ahead 73-68 as they scored two points each from Shipes, Dennis and Hunter.
Georgia State maintained their late five-point with 13 seconds left to play as the score became 75-70, then later in the game with seven seconds left as the score became 77-72 in the Panthers’ favor. Eight seconds later, the Panthers had sealed their third conference victory.
The Panthers will take the court Thursday at home when they face UT-Arlington at 7 p.m.
Georgia State stats
Hunter: 37 points
Ware: 13 points
Troy stats
Abdul-Aleem: 33 points
Person: 17 points
