PENSACOLA, Fla. - Georgia State closed the game on a 7-0 run to pull past Arkansas State, 71-68, in the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinals Saturday night.
The Panthers trailed by four with 3:11 to play and then did not allow another basket as it pushed its way to victory.
"Tonight's game was a March tournament game. That's what you expect. I'm glad it's the experience that we had," said GSU head coach Ron Lanier. "They hurt us on the glass. We didn't shoot it particularly well. We didn't have the energy level that we'd had of late. It wasn't how I drew it up, but quite honestly ... I really wanted those guys to embrace the moment. If we're going to go where we're trying to go, we need to find a way to win that type of game. As much as we would have rather won the game with separation and cruised along, we don't expect to have any of the games to be like that this time of year."
Arkansas State opened the game with a defensive rebound and allyoop dunk from Marquis Eaton to Nochad Omier to give the Red Wolves the first points of the night. While Georgia State took a brief lead early, the first 13 minutes of action was largely Arkansas State. The Red Wolves led by as many as 13 points, 32-19, with 6:37 in the half after 3s by Malcolm Farrington and Markise Davis. Georgia State answered with a 15-1 run to close the half and lead 34-33 at halftime.
The second half saw 12 lead changes. Farrington stole the ball and hit a 3 with 3:11 to play to give Arkansas State a two-possession lead, but Corey Allen answered a little over a minute later with a layup to spark the 7-0 GSU run to close the game.
Georgia State's defense forced five missed shots and two turnovers in the final three minutes to silence the Arkansas State offense. Following Allen's layup, GSU began going to the free throw line with Eliel Newsome knocking down 3-of-4 and Evan Johnson hit 2-of-4 down the stretch.
Five Panthers finished in double-figures scoring, led by Justin Roberts' 17 points on 50% shooting (7-of-14). Allen finished with 15 points, Johnson scored 11, and GSU received 10 apiece from Nsoseme and Jalen Thomas. Nsoseme led the team with 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Omier and Eaton each scored 16 points to lead Arkansas State. Omier grabbed a tournament-high 18 rebounds for the second-straight night, including seven on offense.
Georgia State (14-5) will meet Louisiana in the semifinals Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Pensacola Bay Center. The Ragin' Cajuns (17-8) defeated South Alabama, 79-68, earlier in the evening at Pensacola State College's Hartsell Arena.