AUBURN, Ala. -- Georgia State used the last ten days to fix the problems that led to its worst loss of the season. The improvement was evident but wasn’t quite enough to get the Panthers over the top in a 72-64 loss to No. 19 Auburn at Neville Arena Wednesday night.
“There’s a lot we can take away from this game,” said Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes, whose team lost to Northeastern by 20 on Dec. 4. “I told our guys in the locker room, I will never hold them to the standard of perfection. I will always hold them to the standard of progress. And I thought today, while we didn’t win the game, we made progress.”
Georgia State (5-5) led by as many as six points in the second half and trailed by just five with 4:25 left. That’s about the time Auburn caught fire, went on a 16-3 run and finished by making 13 of its last 16 shots.
“They were getting to their spots and they were making shots,” Hayes said. “They were making tough shots, too. We have to give them credit. Our guys brought a good fight today. We don’t believe in moral victories, but I do think we got back to playing Georgia State basketball.”
Dwon Odom scored 13 points with five assists, despite being closely marked by Auburn’s physical defenders. The Tigers tried to keep the ball away from Odom and harass him whenever it landed in his hands.
“It was tough,” Odom said. “It was just regrouping and playing hard, watching a lot of film, just trying to figure out ways to be tough, because we’ve got a lot of tough dudes who can guard guys who are very physical. We wanted to get back to that and I think we showed that today.”
Georgia State’s top scorer was Evan Johnson with 14 points. Brenden Tucker scored 10 and Ja’Heim Hudson had eight points and game-high 11 rebounds.
Hudson, at 6-foot-7, had to battle against Auburn’s big guys like Jalin Williams, a 6-8 product of Brantley High School in Nahunta, and Johni Broome, a beefy 6-8 senior. Williams had 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, Broome had 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
“They were dinosaurs. They were giants,” Hayes said. “They weren’t so jolly, either.”
Auburn (9-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season against Memphis. The Tigers also got 17 points from Wendell Green Jr., who made 11 of 15 from the line.
Georgia State was on point defensively in the first half, limiting Auburn to 32% shooting from the field. With no success from the perimeter, Auburn tried to use its size advantage down low and it worked, with the Tigers scoring 12 points in the paint and saddling the GSU inside players with foul trouble.
The Panthers kept it close with relentless defense and made four 3-pointers, each at a crucial point and one by Odom that tied the game at 24. That trey sparked a 9-2 run and Georgia State led 31-28 at the half.
Credit: Michael Wade
Credit: Michael Wade
Georgia State played without Jamaine Mann (10.7 points), who was sick and stayed at home. Auburn was missing guard K.D. Johnson, a Southwest DeKalb product, by coach’s decision.
Georgia State returns home to play Rhode Island on Sunday and Toccoa Falls on Wednesday before opening Sun Belt play on Dec. 29 against James Madison.
Hudson said games like the one against Auburn will help the Panthers continue to grow.
“It’s definitely getting us more prepared,” he said. “It’s getting us ready for conference. You see the type of people you’ve got to get ready for.”
Odom said, “It’s hard because (Auburn) is a great team right there. They’re going to be great in the SEC and March Madness. So, I think that really helps us. It just shows us what we can do and what we can get better at as well.”
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