ATLANTA-Six players finished in double figures as Georgia State cruised to an 83-70 victory over Little Rock on Senior Day at the GSU Sports Arena.
Georgia State (21-9, 12-5 Sun Belt) honored seniors Malik Benlevi, Devin Mitchell, Jeff Thomas, and Jordan Tyson before the game and then went on to knock down 12 3-pointers to lead by as many as 26 points in the second half.
Sophomore Kane Williams came off the bench to lead the Panthers with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with three assists and four steals. Thomas and freshman Nelson Phillips each scored 14 points, while Mitchell added 13 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Benlevi added 11 points while junior D'Marcus Simonds finished with 10 points, five assists, and five steals.
Fittingly on senior day, senior Jordan Tyson pulled down a career-high nine points while blocking two shots in 27 minutes.
Little Rock (10-16, 5-11 Sun Belt) was led by Rayjon Tucker who scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Kris Bankston added 15 points and six boards.
“I so very proud of my seniors and what they have accomplished,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “What this group did is take the mantel from R.J. (Hunter) and Ryan (Harrow) and carried us into the NCAA Tournament and we will have a chance to go again. I just told our young guys that they now need to be the ones who step up next year. This is how you build a culture of winning which we have and plan to continue.”
Little Rock took an early 6-3 lead and led 7-6 at the under four media timeout, but that would be the last time the Trojans would lead. Over the next six minutes, Georgia State went on a 13-2 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Mitchell to take a 25-13 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.
A 12-0 run late in the half capped by back-to-back baskets by freshman Nelson Phillips gave the Panthers a 37-17 lead with 3:12 remaining.
Georgia State went into the locker room leading 43-23 after knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first half while holding Little Rock to 28.6 percent shooting and just 2-of-12 from 3-point range.
In the second half, Little Rock got to within 15 points with just under 13 minutes to play before the Panthers build a 26-point lead, 76-50, on a 3-pointer by Benlevi with just under eight minutes to play.
Hunter cleared his bench with just under three minutes to play before a standing ovation broke out for the team's four seniors.
Georgia State forced Little Rock into 19 turnovers which led to 24 points. The Panthers shot 48.3 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from 3-point range.
For just the second time in program history and the second-straight season, Georgia State surpassed 300 made 3-pointers and is now just 22 shy of the school and Sun Belt Conference record set last season.
Notes:
- Georgia State's 21-9 start to the season is tied for the third-best 30-game start in program history.
- Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers have won more games (131) than any other NCAA Division I team in the state of Georgia.
- Georgia State improved to 19-0 when leading at halftime this season, the second-most wins without a loss at halftime in the country.
- Jeff Thomas has now played in 128 games, tied for second-most in program history and just one shy of the school record 129 held by Markus Crider.
- Jeff Thomas and Malik Benlevi were a part of their 81st wins, tied with Markus Crider and T.J. Shipes for the fifth-best four-year mark in school history.
Georgia State will close out the regular season next Saturday traveling to face in-state rival Georgia Southern in Statesboro at 5 p.m.
