STATESBORO, Ga.- Georgia State fell to Georgia Southern 58-54 Thursday at Hanner Fieldhouse. Ryan Harrow led the Panthers with 17 points, and Markus Crider added 14 points and seven rebounds.
R.J. Hunter finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for Georgia State (15-8, 8-4 Sun Belt), which now sits one-and-a-half games behind first-place Georgia Southern (16-4, 9-2 Sun Belt) in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
The Panthers lost for just the 11th time in the last 48 games dating back to last season. The loss also snapped Georgia State's four-game winning streak.
Georgia Southern got 15 points from Mike Hughes, including two crucial 3-pointers in the final eight minutes as the Eagles rallied from eight points down. Jelani Hewitt scored nine of his 13 points in the second half.
“We just didn't play well offensively at all,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Our defense once again kept us in the game, but we forced too many shots and didn't do a good job moving the ball inside for easy baskets. We also turned it over too much and that led to the loss.”
Georgia State held the Eagles to less than 30 percent shooting from the field, but Georgia Southern won the rebounding battle, 43-38, including 15 offensive rebounds. It marked the second-straight game holding an opponent under 30 percent. Georgia Southern went 19-for-29 at the free throw line, while Georgia State was just 5-for-9.
Georgia State took a 41-33 lead on a layup by Harrow with 10 minutes to play, but the Panthers went nearly five minutes without a score, allowing Georgia Southern to take the lead for the first time since early in the first half. A steal by Hewitt led to Hughes' 3-pointer that tied the game at 41, and then Trent Wiedeman put the Eagles ahead 43-41 with a pair of free throws with 6:26 to play.
The Panthers regained the lead briefly on a jumper by Harrow, but Georgia Southern got back-to-back treys from Hughes and Jake Allsmiller to pull ahead 51-46 with 3:45 left.
Georgia State made a final run, pulling within 51-49 on Hunter's 3-pointer with 1:43 to play, but the Panthers could get no closer.
The Panthers also hurt themselves with an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers.
Georgia State led 25-19 at the half behind Crider, who collected 12 points and five rebounds in the opening period.
After scoring his 1,000th point in a GSU uniform last game, Harrow moved into 17th on Georgia State's all-time scoring list on Thursday night.
The Panthers face the second of three straight road games Saturday at South Alabama at 5 p.m. ET.
