GEORGIA STATE 82, SOUTHERN POLY 64: Newcomers contribute, but old hands lead way

Many among the enthusiastic crowd that attended Georgia State’s home basketball opener came to get a look at the four notable Division I transfers who were making their debut at the GSU Sports Arena. As it turned out, a couple of holdovers made the biggest difference in the outcome.

Leonard Mendez and Trae Goldston, key contributors to last season’s gritty group of overachievers, each came up big in Georgia State’s 82-64 victory Wednesday night over Southern Poly, a perennially strong NAIA program from Marietta.

Goldston scored 19 points and had three of his five 3-pointers in a crucial 20-4 first-half run that put the game away. Mendez scored 12 points and became the 15th player in the program’s history to score 1,000 points.

“It was a good win for us,” said Georgia State coach Rod Barnes. “Trae had a good night shooting the ball, and we really needed it. And Leonard getting his 1,000th point is a great accomplishment.”

Those four newcomers did contribute for Georgia State (2-2): Joe Dukes had 12 points and six assists; Bernard Rimmer had nine points and 10 rebounds; Trey Hampton had eight points and four rebounds; and Xavier Hansbro had four points.

“I like this team, and I like our work ethic,” Barnes said. “But there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

Goldston was disappointed with his performance in three games at the NABC Classic in Minnesota, where he failed to score in double figures. He returned home and spent two days in the gym to relocate his shot.

“Trae deserved it,” Barnes said. “He’s really worked hard the last couple of days, and it paid off.”

Georgia State started out with a 7-0 run but couldn’t shake the pesky Runnin’ Hornets. The Panthers dominated the boards, outrebounding Southern Poly 25-15, but found themselves tied 18-18 with 7:29 left in the first half.

That’s when the 3-pointers began to fly. Goldston had three, and James Fields, the freshman from Savannah, added two more from long range. Georgia State’s lead was 45-31 at the half. The Panthers held serve in the second half and pulled away near the end with a couple of thunderous dunks.

Southern Poly (3-3) was led by Nick Mattone with 19 points and Travis Smith with 13.

“The difference in the game was their size and their depth,” said Southern Poly coach Jeff Jones. “We were a little jittery at first, but after we realized we could play, I thought we were OK.”