An off-day for the Georgia State defense was too much for the Panthers to overcome Saturday. Now they’ve lost five consecutive games and have dropped into the cellar of the Sun Belt Conference.
Georgia State lost for the ninth time in 11 games, this one 75-70 to Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark. The result leaves Georgia State and Arkansas State tied at the bottom of the Sun Belt Conference. Both teams are guaranteed a spot in the play-in game at the league tournament in Pensacola, Fla.
“The second half, I thought our defense collapsed,” GSU coach Jonas Hayes said. “They had 30 possessions in the second half, and we had eight stops. That’s not good enough. … We just have to be more solid on the defensive end.”
The Panthers played without one of their key defensive stoppers in sturdy Ja’Heim Hudson, who missed the game with lower back pain. Hudson averages 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds, but hasn’t been able to play since his back issue flared during Thursday’s physical contest against Coastal Carolina.
“He’s still dealing with some physical issues from the last game,” Hayes said. “He tried to give it a go. I give him a lot of credit. He’s one of the toughest guys on our team, and he tried his best. He just wasn’t able to do it. We’ll get him evaluated when we get back home.
“It makes it more difficult, but that’s never going to be an excuse,” Hayes said. “I want to be clear that we never want to make excuses. We didn’t get the job done.”
Without their big physical presence, the Panthers (3-13, 10-18 Sun Belt) got solid efforts from backups Caleb Scott, who scored 11 points – his second consecutive double-digit effort in a relief appearance – with long-limbed freshman Edward Nnamoko picking up five rebounds and one block.
Hudson’s absence put more offensive pressure on the remaining crew, who responded with one of their more solid performances this month. GSU shot 47.2% from the floor, made four 3-pointers and was 16-for-19 from the free-throw line. The Panthers turned the ball over only eight times, matching their low for a conference game.
The Panthers got 18 points apiece from Brenden Tucker and Collin Moore, who also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Dwon Odom scored 12 points with five assists. Georgia State’s roster was short again, with reserves Evan Johnson, Joe Jones and Jamall Clyce not along for the road trip. GSU is 0-10 on the road.
Arkansas State (11-18, 3-13) produced an emotional effort on Senior Night at First National Bank Arena. Terrance Ford had 21 points – twice his season average – and 12 rebounds, and Caleb Fields scored 21 points and had four assists. Omar El-Sheikh captured his 10th double-double, with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The game was tight for most of the 40 minutes. Georgia State led by as many as eight, and Arkansas State’s big lead was five points. The contest was tied eight times and had 12 lead changes.
The Panthers got as close as 72-70 on Moore’s 3-point basket with 40 seconds left. Arkansas State responded by working deep into the shot clock for Fields’ jumper with 13.3 seconds remaining and a four-point lead.
“We just ran out of time,” Hayes said. “I do appreciate the guys we have, and we have a level of connectedness the last four days that we’ve been attempting to build this entire year. From an intangible standpoint, we’re as connected as we have been all year.”
Georgia State returns for its final home game Wednesday against Appalachian State and finishes the regular season on the road Friday at James Madison.
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