UALR defeats men’s basketball

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.

Final Stats
Georgia State University of Arkansas-Little Rock
Harrow: 22 points Hunter: 21 points, eight rebounds
Thomas: 17 points Isom: 17 points