Box Score ATLANTA-Georgia Southern snapped a 28-year losing streak in the GSU Sports Arena with a 79-70 win over Georgia State in front of a sell-out crowd on Friday night. Junior Justin Roberts led the Panthers with 21 points as one of four Panthers in double figures.

Georgia State (18-12, 11-8 Sun Belt) dropped its third-straight game and lost at home for just the third time in the last 27 games. The Panthers shot just 34.8 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 18 times in the loss.

Georgia Southern (18-12, 12-7 Sun Belt) snapped a four-game losing streak to the Panthers as Isaiah Crawley just missed a double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds. The Eagles had lost nine straight games in Atlanta but were able to overcome 21 turnovers and making just 3-of-14 from 3-point range.

Roberts finished 7-of-10 from the floor with five 3-pointers, while junior Kane Williams added 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.

"I feel like this is the most disappointing effort of the season for these guys," head coach Rob Lanier said. "It's not a good time to do it obviously. I thought Georgia Southern really came to play tonight, played with a real sense of purpose and were really prepared. They deserve a lot of credit for the win tonight."

Georgia Southern opened the game scoring the first nine points causing Lanier to call a timeout less than two minutes into the game.

However, the Panthers quickly responded and following a Nelson Phillips 3-pointer and holding the Eagles without a field goal for more than five minutes, trailed just 16-13 with 12:43 to play.

The Eagles followed with a 7-0 run and took a 23-13 lead midway through the half as Southern made eight of its first 12 shots.

Minutes later Georgia State used a 9-0 run and following a 3-pointer and jumper by Roberts, trailed just 25-24 with 6:23 remaining in the half.

Georgia Southern followed with an 8-0 run and went into halftime leading 39-31 as the Panthers shot just 31.4 percent from the floor and turned the ball over nine times in the first 20 minutes.

Georgia State held Georgia Southern without a field goal for the first four minutes of the second half, but only managed three points and still trailed by five.

After the Panthers cut the deficit to six points, the Eagles responded with an 8-0 run causing Lanier to call timeout with 8:03 to play giving Georgia Southern a 59-45 lead.

The Eagles pushed the lead to 15 before Georgia State used a 7-0 run to cut Georgia Southern's lead to 60-52 with 4:55 to play.

Unfortunately, the Eagles would go back up again by as much as 13 and the Panthers would not get it back to single digits until a 3-pointer by Phillips with five seconds to play. Phillips finished with 11 points off the bench after missing the last two games due to an injury.

Senior Damon Wilson added 11 points as the fourth Panther in double figures.

Ike Smith added 15 points and six rebounds for Georgia Southern while Calvin Wishart scored 12.

Notes:

• With a crowd of 3,854, the game sold out for a sixth-straight season in the GSU Sports Arena.
• Georgia Southern now leads the all-time series with Georgia State 37-23, however the Panthers are 14-7 against the Eagles since 1995.
• Georgia Southern earned one point in the annual Rivalry Series and now leads this year 6-5.
• With a 3-pointer tonight, Georgia State has made at least one 3-pointer in 778 games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.

Georgia State will conclude the regular season hosting first place Little Rock on Tuesday in the GSU Sports Arena at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRAS-FM 88.5 and the GSU Mobile App.