Jeremy Hollowell scored a game-high 23 points, and Georgia State defeated South Alabama 70-55 on Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers have won three consecutive games with three games remaining in a five-game homestand. Georgia State (10-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) will host Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday. The Panthers have won 32 off their past 33 home games.
"We accomplished what we wanted to get accomplished this weekend," coach Ron Hunter said. "We know to be a championship team you have to win at home, and we had two games and were able to get that done."
Unlike in Thursday’s 72-68 win over Troy, Georgia State eliminated most of the drama in Saturday’s victory over the Jaguars by building a 16-point lead with 7:436 remaining in the second half and mostly maintaining the margin with free-throw shooting and improved focused on defense.
Hollowell, who is playing his first season in the Sun Belt after transferring from Indiana, was the key. He made 7 of 15 shots, including all seven free throws.
“I’m getting a lot more comfortable in the offense,” he said.
Here are five observations about the game:
Kevin Ware, jump shooter? Ware made only 6-of-23 3-pointers last season and at one point said he isn't a 3-point shooter.
But he wasn’t ready to give up. He said before last week’s trip to Texas that he needed to become a better 3-point shooter.
After making 1 of 3 in the two-game swing, he mde 3 of 7 against Troy and 3 of 7 on Saturday. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists.
“In preseason we shot the lights out, but in the season we weren’t shooting very well,” Hunter said. “I thought this would be a good shooting team.”
Improving the efficiency of the offense. Led by Ware and Hollowell, Georgia State's offense was mostly jump shots in the game's first 11 minutes, few of which fell. The team had no points from inside the free-throw lane until Hollowell made a layup with 7:24 left in the first half.
The Panthers then began attacking more inside, which opened up the outside for Jeff Thomas, who made a 3-pointer, and Isaiah Dennis, yes, Dennis. He made the first 3-pointer (and Hunter said last) he has attempted this season to end the first half. He also added a career-high seven assists.
“Isaiah Dennis was absolutely terrific today,” Hunter said.
Though, the Panthers shot only 37.3 percent (20-of-53), they made 22 of 27 free throws and had 14 assists.
Improving the efficiency of the defense. Georgia State held Troy to 19 points in the first half Thursday, before the Trojans scored 49 in the second half, many on points from inside or at the free-throw line, which opened up 3-pointers later in the game.
South Alabama had few problems getting inside Georgia State’s zone defense in the first half. The Jags’ Georgi Boyanov scored 15 points, 12 from inside the free-throw lane on 6-of-7 shooting, and three points more from free throws. The Jags scored 18 of their 28 points from inside the free-throw lane. Those points were available because Hunter said the defense was focusing on Ken Williams, a jump-shooter, and the team’s energy level wasn’t what it needed to be.
“We weren’t ready to play for whatever reason,” Hunter said. “Once we got going, it starts with our defense.”
Georgia State made adjustments in the second half to reduce Boyanov’s shots by putting more players inside. He scored one point in the second half, and the Jags’ offense ground to a halt. Williams finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting. The Jags made 39.6 percent of their shots. They missed 15 of 17 3-point shots. The Panthers also forced 16 turnovers.
“As long as we keep doing that …” Hunter said.
Maintaining a lead. Georgia State built a 26-point lead in the first half against Troy that it almost lost in the game's final minutes. The Panthers built a 10-point halftime lead against South Alabama.
The Panthers stretched the lead to 14 on a 3-pointer by Hollowell with 14:46 left.
Unlike in the win against Troy, Georgia State ran its offense against South Alabama and seldom was forced to shoot with the shot clock about to expire.
Even when the clock was ticking down, such as with a few minutes remaining in the game, Ware drilled a 3-pointer to make the possession look that much better.
Something from bench. Hunter moved Jeff Thomas, arguably Georgia State's best shooter, into the starting lineup and forward Markus Crider, arguably the best defensive player, back to the bench.
The move worked. The Panthers got 13 points from the reserves, five more than they got in the entire game against Troy.
Hunter said part of why he moved Crider to the bench was to get more offense from the reserves. Hunter said the Crider-Thomas switch likely will change from game to game.
About the Author
