Georgia State hammers UNCW

By News services

For the AJC

Georgia State found some answers in a 68-53 win at North Carolina Wilmington on Wednesday to some of the problems it has been experiencing.

The Panthers, who broke a two-game losing streak, made six 3-pointers and created 15 turnovers that they turned into 22 points. They also forced the Seahawks to miss eight of their 10 3-pointers.

Perhaps most important, they found a new source of offense in Rashaad Richardson, who scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers, in his second game back as a starter. Eric Buckner continued his strong play with a team-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Jihad Ali added 16 more.

The Panthers (15-8, 7-5) won both games this season against their Colonial Athletic Association foe. They will play at Hofstra on Saturday as they continue to try to secure a top-four seed in the CAA tournament, which begins March 2 in Richmond.

It wasn’t all good: The Panthers missed 13 of their 21 free throws. Devonta White, who was benched because he was late to a practice earlier this week, continued to struggle on offense, scoring only five points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Led by Richardson and Ali, who combined to score 17 points in the first half, the Panthers took a 28-17 lead into halftime that they stretched to 21 with 10 minutes remaining.