Georgia St. GSU 5-5,0-0 Sun Belt

Auburn AUB 9-1,0-0 SEC

Georgia St. GSU

5-5,0-0 Sun Belt

Final

Dec. 14, 2022

Auburn AUB

9-1,0-0 SEC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Georgia St. GSU	31	33	64
Auburn AUB	28	44	72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/14/2022 11:32:00 PM

Panthers Fall 72-64 at No. 19/18 Auburn

"We got back to playing Georgia State basketball," head coach Jonas Hayes said.

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12/18/2022 | 2:00 PM

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AUBURN -- Georgia State fell 72-64 at No. 19/18 Auburn, but not before leading well into the second half Wednesday at Neville Arena.

Evan Johnson scored 14 points for the Panthers (5-5), and Dwon Odom had 13 points and five rebounds. Ja'Heim Hudson grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with eight points, and Brenden Tucker added 10 points.

"We don't believe in moral victories, but there's a lot that we can take away from this game," head coach Jonas Hayes said. "I told our guys in the locker room that I will never hold them to the standard of perfection, but I will always hold them to the standard of progress. I thought today, while we didn't win a game, I thought we made progress today.

"Again, we don't believe in moral victories, but I do think we got back to playing Georgia State basketball."

The Panthers led 31-28 at the half and maintained the advantage into the second half until Auburn moved ahead 39-38 with 13 minutes to play. GSU stayed within striking distance, trailing 59-54 with just over four minutes to play.

Tucker hit a 3-pointer to make it 67-61 with 1:27 left, and after an Auburn basket, he drove for a layup to keep the deficit at six, 69-63 with 42 seconds to go, but the Panthers could get no closer.

Jaylin Williams led Auburn (9-1) with 20 points and eight rebounds, and Wendell Green Jr. added 17 points, 11 of them at the free throw line as the Tigers shot 30 free throws in the game.

Georgia State took the lead late in the first half. Back-to-back treys by Odom and Kalik Brooks pulled GSU within one at 23-22 with four minutes until halftime. After an Auburn free throw, Brooks grabbed a steal and fed Odom for a dunk to the game at 24-all.

Hudson's driving layup gave Georgia State its first lead at 26-24 with two minutes to play in the half. Johnson followed with a 3-pointer, and then Kaleb Scott's putback gave the Panthers a 31-25 lead with 38 seconds left before Auburn scored the final three points of the half.

The Panthers outrebounded Auburn 35-26 and held the Tigers to just 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from the field in the first half, but Auburn managed go 18-for-27 in the second half.

"It was a combination of fatigue and those guys getting hot," Hayes said of Auburn's second-half performance. "I always say that good defense is always beaten by better offense. They were getting to their spots and making shots. And they were making tough shots. Auburn is a helluva team, maybe the best team in the SEC."

Georgia State returns home to Rhode Island Sunday at 2 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center. For tickets, visit GeorgiaStateSports.com/tix or call 404-413-4020 during business hours.

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