1 of 10
Justin Roberts Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
Kane Williams Kane Williams
Kane Williams
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
Corey Allen Corey Allen
Corey Allen
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
JoJo Toppin JoJo Toppin
JoJo Toppin
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
JoJo Toppin JoJo Toppin
JoJo Toppin
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
Eliel Nsoseme Eliel Nsoseme
Eliel Nsoseme
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
Justin Roberts Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
Kane Williams Kane Williams
Kane Williams
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
Rob Lanier Rob Lanier
Rob Lanier
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
JoJo Toppin JoJo Toppin
JoJo Toppin
Photo Credit: Ben Ennis
69
Georgia St. GSU 2-1,0-0 Sun Belt
86
Winner Mercer Mercer 3-0,0-0 SoCon
Georgia St. GSU
2-1,0-0 Sun Belt
69
Final
86
Mercer Mercer
3-0,0-0 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Georgia St. GSU 37 32 69
Mercer Mercer 42 44 86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Panthers Fall at Mercer 86-69

MACON, Ga.-Georgia State was held to just 35.7 shooting and fell to Mercer 86-69 on Monday night at Hawkins Arena.

Georgia State (2-1) was looking to start the season 3-0 for the first time in 20 years, but couldn't overcome 47.8 percent shooting from Mercer (3-0), including 11 3-pointers by the Bears, to top the Panthers for just the fourth time in the last 22 meetings.

Senior Kane Williams led the Panthers with 18 points but went just 6-of-20 from the floor. Despite getting to the free throw line 34 times, Georgia State made just 22, including 10 misses in the second half. Mercer outrebounded GSU 52-30 on the glass while outscoring GSU 40-26 in the paint.

Mercer was led by Leon Ayers III and Felipe Haase who each scored 17 points, while Neftali Alvarez added 16 points. Ayers III grabbed nine rebounds, while Alvarez pulled down eight.

Junior Justin Roberts added 10 points, going 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while freshman Evan Johnson scored 10 points all in the second half as the only other Panthers in double figures.

Georgia State took an early 22-18 lead before Mercer responded with a 12-0 run to lead 30-22 with 6:17 to play in the first half. The Bears led the remainder of the half and went into the locker room with a 42-37 lead as the Panthers shot just 35.5 percent from the floor and 2-of-9 from 3-point range.

Mercer outscored Georgia State 44-32 in the second half as the Panthers were never able to get within single digits in the final five minutes of the game.

Game Notes
• Georgia State and Mercer met for the 84th time on Monday night and the first of two times this season.
• Georgia State had been looking to start 3-0 for the first time since starting 7-0 in the 2000-01 season that ended in the NCAA Tournament.
• Kane Williams, an All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team member, is now just five points shy of 1,000 for his career which would make him the 23rd Panther to reach the career milestone. He is 15 points shy of Chris Collier to move into 22nd on the all-time list.
 
Georgia State will head to North Carolina on Friday to face Charlotte at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on Charlotte's YouTube Channel and heard on the GSU Mobile App.
 
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