What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State managed to shoot just 36.2 percent and fell to Arkansas State 78-67 on Monday night in Jonesboro, Ark.
* Senior Willie Clayton just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
* The Panthers will close out the regular season hosting in-state rival Georgia Southern on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.
JONESBORO, Ark.-Georgia State could not overcome a cold-shooting night and fell to Arkansas State 78-67 in the regular season road finale on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
Senior Willie Clayton just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while senior Jeremy Hollowell led the Panthers with 15 points and six rebounds.
Georgia State (18-11, 11-6 Sun Belt) shot just 36.2 percent from the floor and was held to 8-of-26 shooting from 3-point range.
Arkansas State (20-8, 11-5 Sun Belt) had five players finish in double figures, led by Devin Carter who scored 20 points. Jahmiah Simmons finished with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Red Wolves who moved one-half game back ahead of the Panthers in the conference standings.
“This is a tough loss, but we still were able to split on this road trip and we need to remember that,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “We missed too many shots right under the basket in the first half and just could not get any momentum going. We tried to make a couple of runs in the second half, but just could not get over the hump.”
After Arkansas State took an early 5-0 lead, Georgia State held the Red Wolves without a field goal for the next six minutes and tied the game 12-12 on a 3-pointer by Devin Mitchell with 11:51 remaining.
The Panthers took their first lead of the game when Isaiah Dennis made a lay-up and was fouled going to the hoop. The senior made the free throw and Georgia State led 17-16 with 10:20 remaining.
Unfortunately, 31.6 percent shooting in the first half by Georgia State allowed Arkansas State to go into the locker room leading 34-28.
D'Marcus Simonds knocked down three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half, but Arkansas State slowly started to pull away and took a 61-48 lead with 9:31 to play.
Georgia State was able to cut it back to single-digits in the final few minutes before the Red Wolves pulled away one last time.
Simonds finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for Georgia State, while Austin Donaldson came off the bench to score six. Mitchell and Jordan Session each also finished with six points, while Malik Benlevi scored seven.
Deven Simms added 13 points for the Red Wolves, while Rashad Lindsey and Connor Kern each scored 12. Arkansas State shot 45.1 percent from the floor and went 9-of-19 from 3-point range.
Georgia State will close out the regular season on Saturday hosting in-state rival Georgia Southern for Senior Day at 2:15 p.m., in the GSU Sports Arena. Limited tickets remain and can be purchased by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com.
