Georgia State learned Thursday that defense can’t take a holiday, especially on the road.
The Panthers nearly came back from a late 14-point deficit, but fell short 79-73 against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss. The issue was the lack of commitment on the defensive end.
“I’m disappointed,” Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes said. “I don’t think the sky is falling, but we’ve got to find the importance of playing defense for 40 minutes. We had an eight-minute stretch in the second half when we got some stops, but it was nowhere near good enough and I’m disappointed in that fact. It was a good opportunity to take another step forward.”
The Panthers trailed 75-61 – their largest deficit of the game – with 5:28 remaining. Although their rally fell short, Georgia State got within four points and made the final three minutes interesting.
A block by GSU’s Toneari Lane led to a fast break that Jay’Den Turn lost out of bounds. After a steal, Georgia State’s Dwon Odom drove the lane and had the ball knocked off his elbow and out of bounds. After Southern Miss star Austin Crowley made one of two free throws, Lucas Taylor missed a 3-pointer that bounced high and was snagged by Southern Miss.
“We’ve got to find a way to guard for 40 minutes,” Hayes said. “This is not an eight-minute game and we’ve just got to get there. We won’t ever lay down, that’s to be expected. Don’t expect to get a pat on the back for not laying down.”
Georgia State (6-7, 1-1) had two players with double-doubles – Turner with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Odom with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was the second straight double-double for Odom. Lane scored 15 but was only 3-for-12 on 3-pointers, and Leslie Nkereuwem had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Poor outside shooting hurt the Panthers, who were 6-for-24 (25%) on 3 pointers. GSU scored 42 points in the paint.
“One of our goals was to play paintball, but those shots were so open and you have guys that are capable of making 3s,” Hayes said. “Lucas (Taylor) and Toneari, when they take those shots, you feel kind of good. They just didn’t go in. I’ve got 1,000 percent confidence in those guys.”
Georgia State also struggled at the line, making only 11 of 21, a dismal 52.4%. The Panthers entered the game shooting 78.5% on free throws, the best in the Sun Belt.
“It was one of those nights,” Hayes said. “You know if we have a normal free throw shooting night you think the outcome will be different. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that we were absolutely dismal on defense for 32 minutes – and that is simply not good enough.”
The Panthers could not stop Crowley, the preseason choice for Sun Belt Player of the Year, who scored 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Guard Andre Curbelo, a St. Johns transfer playing in only his fourth game since being cleared to play, finished with 13 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to become the first Eagle with a triple-double since 1980.
Georgia State completes its two-game road trip on Saturday at 4 p.m. against South Alabama in Mobile.
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