What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State fell to Georgia Southern 54-52 on Tuesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
* Isaiah Williams scored a season-high 22 points, but missed a jumper with five seconds to play that would have tied the game.
* Georgia State will close out the home portion of the schedule on Saturday hosting Appalachian State at 2 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.
STATESBORO, Ga.-Despite a season-high 22 points from Isaiah Williams and a near double-double from Jeremy Hollowell, Georgia State fell to Georgia Southern 54-52 on Tuesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Georgia State (14-12, 7-10 Sun Belt) had a chance to win or tie the game with under 20 seconds to play, but a jumper in the lane by Williams with five seconds to play did not fall and the Panthers were not able to foul in the final seconds.
Mike Hughes led Georgia Southern (13-14, 9-8 Sun Belt) with 21 points and seven rebounds, despite being held to three points in the second half.
Williams set a season high in points for the second-straight game after finishing with 17 against Arkansas State on Saturday. He went 9-of-16 from the floor, hitting four 3-pointers and grabbing five rebounds.
Hollowell finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, just missing the second double-double of the season.
“Once again our defense played outstanding, but we just could not get the baskets to fall when we needed them,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “If you hold a team to 25 percent shooting in the second half, you should come away with the win, but unfortunately that did not happen tonight. We will regroup and get ready to play on Saturday.”
The Panthers held the Eagles to just 35 percent shooting for the game and 7-of-29 from 3-point range. Georgia State clamped down in the second half as the Eagles went just 6-of-25 from the floor and 2-of-13 from 3-point range.
Georgia Southern took an early 10-3 lead with 16:11 to play as the Panthers missed five of their first six shots. However, Georgia State responded with 10-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Williams to give the Panthers a 13-10 lead with 12:44 remaining.
The Eagles immediately responded with an 11-0 run to take a 21-13 lead with 9:53 to play before Georgia State once again came back with an 8-0 run to tie the game 21-21 with 5:07 left before the break.
Georgia Southern went into the locker room with a 33-27 lead as Hughes knocked down a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Eagles an 8-0 run heading into the break.
Georgia Southern led by as many as seven twice in the second half, including a 42-35 lead with 13:32 remaining before the Panthers stormed back and took a 46-45 lead with 8:17 to play on a Hollowell lay-up.
Georgia State led 50-47 before the Eagles used one last 6-0 run to build a 53-52 lead with 1:40 to play.
Kevin Ware added 11 points for the Panthers while Ike Smith scored 12 for Georgia Southern.
Senior Markus Crider, playing in his 125th career game, was held scoreless and managed just 12 minutes before fouling out. He will look to tie the school career games played record on Saturday.
Both teams relied on their starters as the two benches combined for just eight points.
Georgia State will return home for the final time this season hosting Appalachian State at 2:30 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena. It will mark the final home game for seniors Jalen Brown, Markus Crider, T.J. Shipes and Kevin Ware.
