ATLANTA?Trae Goldston's last-second three-pointer capped an eight-point rally in the final five minutes and lifted Georgia State to a 57-55 Homecoming victory over Northeastern Saturday at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
State trailed 55-54 when Northeastern's Chiasson Allen missed the front end of a one-and-one with 19 seconds left and Justin Billingslea rebounded for the Panthers. Leonard Mendez missed a jumper with nine seconds left, but Kevin Lott tracked down the long rebound and flipped it to Billingslea, who swung the ball to Goldston on the wing. The 6-0 sophomore drained the shot with 1.5 seconds left.
“I shot it just like I was in the gym by myself,” said Goldston. “I'm just glad we could get a win.”
Head coach Rod Barnes laughed as he said, “What a great play ? shoot it, off the glass, kick it out, run it down, throw it in . . . that's how you draw it up.”
Michael Moynihan, making his first career start, scored a career-high 15 points and Mendez added 14, including a crucial three-pointer that just beat the shot clock and pulled the Panthers (7-18, 4-11 CAA) within two points, 54-52, with two minutes to play.
Northeastern's Matt Janning led all scorers with 19 points, including four three-pointers, and Atlanta native Manny Adako added 10 points but the Huskies (12-13, 8-7 CAA) had their five-game winning streak snapped.
Northeastern built an eight-point lead with under five minutes to play, going ahead 54-38 on Adako's layup. Mendez hit back-to-back treys to pull the Panthers within 54-52 with two minutes left, the second one just beating the shot clock.
Mark Washington made one of two free throws with 1:34 left to put Northeastern ahead, 55-52, but Billingslea answered with a layup with 1:17 on the clock. The senior from Lithia Springs, Ga., did not start the game due to a sprained knee and was noticeably limping, but he stayed in the game because the Panthers' other post players, Deven Dickerson and Rashad Chase, were out with injuries.
State was not in the yet in the bonus, so it took three fouls to finally put Chiasson on the line with 19 seconds left, when his miss set the stage for Goldston's heroics.
“When they were on the free throw line, I kept thinking to myself, Not again, not again,” said Barnes. “We've had these close losses happen to us so many times. When Trae released the shot, I thought it was good. I knew at some point, it's got to go down for us.”
The Panthers have played seven CAA games in which the margin was one or two points and had suffered six CAA losses by five points or fewer, including the earlier meeting at Northeastern, when State fell, 64-62, but had two shots to win in the final seconds that would not go down.
State won today despite allowing the Huskies to shoot 55 percent from the field and being outrebounded, 29-20.
Moynihan, a walk-on who has played sparingly, was an unlikely hero but the sophomore from Roswell, Ga., hit four of eight shots from the field, including two three-pointers. He also contributed three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 25 minutes. Kevin Lott added eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
“Michael Moynihan did a great job,” said Barnes. “He brings energy to our team, which is something we've been searching for. I thought Michael definitely set the tone.
“I told the guys that if we were going to win this game, we had to win in on the perimeter. I knew we would not be able to pound it inside.”
“The kids have stayed together,” continued Barnes. “My huge statement to them before the game was, ?This is Homecoming and we've got to start making Homecoming special at Georgia State. You do that by winning, so the people will come back and see you. Le the former players and students see that they've got a team that is going to turn this thing around.”
“Tonight was a big win, and we'll try to build on it,” said Moynihan. “Coach Barnes always reminds us to focus on the goals ahead.
Georgia State goes back on the road for two games next week, at UNC Wilmington next Wednesday and then at Jacksonville State in the ESPNU Bracketbusters next Saturday.
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