Another game, another milestone.
Manny Atkins became the third Georgia State player in less than a week to score the 1000th point of his career in the Panthers’ 75-60 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday at the GSU Sports Arena.
After R.J. Hunter did it against Troy and Ryan Harrow against Texas State, Atkins hit a free throw with 14:34 left to become the fourth player on the Panthers roster to reach the mark. He needed just seven points and hit two 3-pointers early in the game. Atkins finished with game highs in points (21) and rebounds (nine). White, the first member of the thousand-point quartet, added 20 points for the Panthers, who have won 16 of 17 and improved to 11-0 at home.
Georgia State’s (19-7, 12-1) magic number is two to clinch one of the top two seeds in the Sun Belt tournament. The first- and- second-place teams at the end of the regular season receive byes to the semifinals of the tournament, which will be held in New Orleans. Georgia State has a three-game lead in the loss column over second-place Western Kentucky and a four-game lead over Louisiana-Lafayette with five games left. The Panthers will host Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday and could clinch at least a share of the regular-season title with a win and loss by the Hilltoppers, who will host Louisiana-Monroe.
The Panthers were without starting center Curtis Washington because of strep throat. Denny Burguillos made his first start this season in Washington’s place. But it was Markus Crider, normally Washington’s backup, who benefited most. He scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
With Louisiana-Monroe (8-13, 5-8) packed into a zone, the Panthers fired 17 3-pointers, hitting five, in the first half. With those shots not falling, the Panthers built a nine-point halftime lead by forcing 10 turnovers that they turned into 14 points.
The turnovers kept coming early in the second half as Georgia State increased its lead to 43-28. Harrow hit a reverse layup off the first turnover and followed it with a rare dunk off a steal by Crider.
The Panthers stretched their lead to 56-38 on seven consecutive points by White. Atkins dropped in another 3-pointer to give Georgia State a 59-40 advantage.
The Warhawks fought back to cut Georgia State’s lead, which reached 21 with 10:16 left, to 10 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Chinedu Amajoyi, the last with 3:32 left.
But that’s as close as Georgia State would allow in defeating the Warhawks for the second time this year.
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