What You Need to Know:
* A 3-pointer at the buzzer was just off the mark and Georgia State fell to Coastal Carolina 65-64 on Monday night at the HTC Center.
* Senior Jeremy Hollowell led the Panthers with 16 points and six rebounds.
* Senior Willie Clayton picked up the 1,000th point of his career early in the first half.
CONWAY, S.C.-A 3-pointer by Isaiah Williams was just off the mark as the buzzer sounded as Coastal Carolina survived for a 65-64 win over Georgia State on Monday night at the HTC Center.
Georgia State (16-9, 9-4 Sun Belt) lost its second-straight game following an eight-game winning streak. Coastal Carolina (13-13, 8-5 Sun Belt) came back from as many as eight down in the second half to defeat a first place conference opponent for the second-straight game.
Demario Beck's putback with 3.5 seconds left proved to be the winner for Coastal Carolina which shot just 35.2 percent from the floor. Beck finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Senior Jeremy Hollowell led the Panthers with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, pulling down six rebounds. Williams, who has been a hero before for Georgia State, finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
“This is a tough loss,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “I thought we played much better than the other night, especially defensively, but we let them hang around and it proved costly at the end. Our guys will bounce back and we will get ready for Saturday's game.”
Coastal Carolina took an early 7-2 lead with 16:18 to play before Georgia State used a 6-0 run to move ahead 8-7 with 14:51 remaining.
The Chanticleers led for most of the first 10 minutes before a lay-up by Hollowell with 8:21 to play put the Panthers ahead for good in the opening 20 minutes.
Georgia State held Coastal Carolina without a field goal for more than six minutes toward the end of the half, building as much as a seven point lead before going into the locker room leading 29-25.
The Panthers held the Chanticleers to just 24.1 percent shooting in the first half. The two teams combined to go just 5-of-25 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
With Georgia State leading 42-34, Coastal Carolina responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game with 12:35 remaining before a Hollowell jumper gave the Panthers the lead again.
Despite Georgia State leading most of the second half, Coastal Carolina tied the game 62-62 when Elijah Wilson was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made all three free throws.
Williams responded by making a pair of free throws for the Panthers with 1:10 remaining, before Beck got the Chanticleers within one with a made free throw with 53 seconds remaining.
When Williams missed a lay-up for the Panthers with 28 seconds to play, Coastal Carolina was able to set-up the game winning shot.
Junior Jordan Session earned the start and finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Freshman D'Marcus Simonds added 10 points and four rebounds for the Panthers.
With a basket late in the first half, senior Willie Clayton scored the 1,000th point of his career.
Wilson added 15 points for Coastal Carolina which shot 9-of-26 from 3-point range. Before fouling out, Colton Ray-St. Cyr scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Georgia State will return home to face UT Arlington on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. The game will serve as the annual “Basketball Alumni Day” and coach Hunter will be honored before the game for becoming the winningest coach in program history.
