Markus Crider grabbed an important rebound that led to two Kevin Ware free throws that propelled Georgia State to an 69-66 overtime win over Georgia Southern on Tuesday at the GSU Sports Arena.
Ware had just missed two free throws when Crider grabbed the miss off the second and passed the ball back to Ware, who was again fouled with 39 seconds left. Ware hit both – his first made free throws in the game – to give the Panthers a four-point lead.
Jake Allsmiller hit two free throws to cut Georgia State’s lead to one with 30 seconds left. The Panthers turned the ball over on the ensuing play, but the Eagles (6-11, 2-5 Sun Belt) failed to capitalize.
Jeremy Hollowell hit two free throws for the game’s final score. The Panthers (12-4, 5-2 Sun Belt) rallied from 10 points down early in the second half for the win.
“I told my guys right after this game that I’m changing my life insurance policy,” coach Ron Hunter said. “This group here takes you to the limit.”
Seniors Crider and T.J. Shipes led Georgia State with 14 points each in their final game against Georgia Southern at home. It was a career high in points for Shipes, who added a career high 13 rebounds. Ike Smith led Georgia Southern with 23 points.
It was an intense game in front of almost-sold-out Sports Arena crowd, pushed to a froth by highlights of the Panthers’ win over the Eagles in football last season.
“Our students were terrific,” Hunter said. “I don’t know the dances that they were doing. But I’m going to try some later tonight.”
Here are five observations about the game:
Controlling the pace: Hunter said after the 87-54 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday that if Georgia State won't win if it can't play at a slower pace.
The Panthers got the pace they wanted for most of the first half, but were still often forced to put up uncomfortable-looking shots in the final seconds.
“We don’t play smart all the time, we don’t have the highest basketball IQ,” Huner said. “But we do have character.”
The problem with controlling the pace for Georgia State is because its shots weren’t falling and Georgia Southern’s were it became that much harder to rally with less time to try to do so.
Defensive improvement: But as Georgia State has done for the past few seasons, it used its defense to create offense and offset some of the problems it experienced trying to run its half-court sets.
After a rough first half, mostly because of poor rebounding, the Panthers held the Eagles without a point for four minutes in the second half to tie the game at 39.
“Our press helped us,” Hunter said. “In the entire second half we played at our pace.”
A steal by Isaiah Dennis and layup gave the Panthers a 45-41 lead with 11:16 left.
The Panthers forced 14 turnovers that they turned into 13 points. The Eagles shot 34.8 percent in the second half and 35 percent in overtime.
“When we defend we are really good,” Hunter said. “We aren’t blessed to be the best offensive team but we will take 12-4 and move on.”
Rebounding improvement: After being outrebounded by 17 by Louisiana-Lafayette, the Panthers weren't much better at sealing out the Eagles in the first half. Georgia Southern grabbed 10 offensive rebounds that it turned into nine points. The Panthers were able to mostly match them, grabbing eight — four more than in the entire game against the Cajuns.
Things improved in the second half. Georgia State outrebounded the Eagles 29-15 in the second half and overtime.
Hunter said it took a while to recover from the loss to the Cajuns, the worst since Hunter took over the program.
“Everything got turned around in the second half,” Hunter said. “It lingered. It was like a hangover. We don’t get beat period, we don’t have many losses in the league. We were shell-shocked a little bit.”
Slowing down Georgia Southern's 3-point shooters: After allowing 11 3-pointers, tied for the most this season, by Lafayette, Georgia State was torched again in the first half by Georgia Southern, which was hitting an average of 32.2 percent of its 3-pointers this season. The Eagles hit 6-of-14 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
Things improved in the second half. Mike Hughes didn’t score until hitting two free throws with 4:43 left that cut Georgia State’s lead to 53-51. Smith had six during the same span after scoring 14 in the first half.
The Eagles hit 9-of-27 3-pointers.
Outside shooting: The Panthers won despite Ware and Hollowell, the team's two leading scorers, struggling throughout the game.
Ware hit two 3-pointers to open the scoring but had just two more points until overtime.
Hollowell’s first goal came in overtime and gave the Panthers a 65-59 lead with 1:49 left.
Hollowell finished with 11 points on 1-of-9 shooting. Ware finished with 10 on 3-of-9 shooting. He also had four turnovers in what Hunter said was probably his worst game since transferring to Georgia State from Louisville.
Despite Hollowell’s and Ware’s issues, all five Georgia State starters scored at least 10 points. Dennis added eight.
“When our top scorers the last couple of years didn’t score we were bad,” Hunter said. “This year we have more balance. We can lean on our defense.”
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