All offense and no defense was the order of things on Thursday night in Little Rock, Arkansas as Georgia State men’s basketball was defeated by the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR) Trojans by a final of 92-83. The loss brings the Panthers to 19-9 and 12-5 vs. Sun Belt opponents.
First Half
The two teams traded their first six points. Georgia State got on the board first as R.J. Hunter made a pair of free throws after sophomore forward Maurius Hill fouled him. Redshirt senior UALR forward Gus Leper made a layup tying the game.
The score would later be tied at four apiece, then at 6-6. Curtis Washington made a layup off a Markus Crider assist, briefly giving the Panthers an 8-6 lead before junior guard James Reid made a three, allowing the Trojans to take their first lead.
Twenty seconds later, Hunter made his first three, making it an 11-9 lead for the Panthers. Hill would grab an offensive rebound, then make a layup, tying the score at 11.
With the score tied at 14, Hunter hit his second three, giving Georgia State a 17-14 advantage. T.J. Shipes later fouled Hill, sending him to the free throw line. Hill made a pair of free throws, drawing UALR closer at 17-15. Isaiah Dennis later made a layup off an assist by Ryan Harrow, growing the Panthers’ lead to 19-15.
The Trojans later got a three from redshirt sophomore forward Mareik Isom, bringing the Trojans within one at 19-18. This was followed up with Jordan Session’s first two points of the game before redshirt junior guard J.T. Thomas made a three, tying the teams up at 21.
With the score tied at 23, Harrow made one of two foul shots after a foul by senior guard Ben Dillard. Isom and Reid each made threes, giving UALR a 29-24 lead.
UALR maintained its five-point advantage with leads of 31-26 and 33-28. Crider later made a layup bringing Georgia State within three at 33-30.
The Trojans maintained its three-point advantage at 36-33. They later embarked on a 5-0 run with a Roger Woods (junior UALR forward) dunk and junior guard Josh Hagins making three free throws, extending the lead to 41-33. Washington later increased his point output to six, closing Georgia State 41-35 at the half.
Second Half
As the second half commenced, the Trojans held on to its six-point lead at 43-37. Harrow would then make a layup and free throw after a Thomas foul, bringing the Panthers to within 43-40.
With the score at 45-42 in favor of the Trojans, a Dillard layup and Thomas three grew the UALR lead to 50-42.
The tally later became 52-44. Washington’s seventh and eighth points got Georgia State within six at 52-46 prior to a Washington foul to Reid, who made one of two from the line, producing a 53-46 score.
Two more Washington points gave the Panthers five at 53-48 prior to a Rogers tipin and a Hill three, expanding the Trojans’ lead to 58-48.
UALR maintained its ten-point lead at 60-50 and 62-52. Hagins converted on a layup, upping the Trojans lead to 64-52. Crider later made two free throws and Harrow hit another three, drawing Georgia State closer at 64-57. Isom later made a three, extending the Trojans’ lead to 67-57.
The Trojans held on to its ten-point advantage with scores of 70-60, 72-62 and 75-65. Washington upped his point output to 12, closing the Panthers within eight at 75-67. Hagins and Isom made another three each, increasing UALR’s lead to 81-67.
Harrow later scored four straight points, closing Georgia State within 81-71 prior to a Thomas layup, growing the Trojans’ advantage to 83-71. Two more Harrow free throws made it 83-73, then Thomas made one of two from the line after a foul by Dennis, growing UALR’s lead to 84-73.
UALR maintained a ten-point edge at 85-75. Ware made two free throws after a Reid foul. Hunter later fouled Thomas when he was attempting a three-point shot, sending him to the line to shoot three foul shots. Thomas made all three, extending the Trojan lead to 88-77.
After a Crider dunk, making it 88-79, the Trojans held on to its nine-point lead with scores of 90-81 and 92-83–the game’s final score.
Georgia State will return to the hardwood on Saturday as they face Troy on the road at 5:15 p.m.
| Georgia State | University of Arkansas-Little Rock |
|---|---|
| Harrow: 22 points | Hunter: 21 points, eight rebounds |
| Thomas: 17 points | Isom: 17 points |
