• Basketball
  • Georgia State Panthers Going Dancing After Beating Louisiana to Win the Sun Belt

Georgia State Panthers Going Dancing After Beating Louisiana to Win the Sun Belt

Details
Basketball

For the fourth time since 2015, the Georgia State men's basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament following an 80-71 win over Louisiana on Monday night in the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship Game.

Senior Corey Allen, who earned Tournament Most Outstanding Performer honors, finishing with 29 points for a second-straight night, going 5-of-6 from 3-point range and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line.

Fellow senior Eliel Nsoseme recorded a third-straight double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds to be named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team for a second-straight year. It was Nsoseme's sixth double-double of the season, 12th of his career, and fifth in six Sun Belt Conference Tournament Games.

Georgia State (18-10) won for the 10th straight time and is now heading to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history and the first since back-to-back appearances in 2018 and 2019.

Junior Jalen Thomas added 12 points, while senior Kane Williams added 10 points while going 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Georgia State finished the night 22-of-24 from the free throw line while also shooting 10-of-15 from 3-point range.

Williams will now become the first Panther in program history to play in three NCAA Tournaments.

Senior Justin Roberts filled up the stat line with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

Louisiana (16-15) was led by Jordan Brown who scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Greg Williams Jr. added 15 points.

Georgia State got off to a red-hot start knocking down eight of its first 11 shots and following a 3-pointer from Ja'Heim Hudson took a 21-12 lead with 11:47 to play, forcing Louisiana to call its first timeout.

An Allen 3-pointer with 7:51 to play pushed the lead back to double figures, 30-20, as the Panthers started 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

A lay-up by Jalen Dalcourt got Louisiana within six with 5:39 to play, but the Panthers responded and back-to-back jumpers by Nsoseme put the Panthers back ahead 39-29 with under four minutes to play.

Georgia State went into the locker room with a 42-33 lead after shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 6-of-11 from 3-point range.

The Panthers kept making shots to start the second half and on back-to-back 3-pointers from Allen and Evan Johnson led 51-41 with 14:51 to play.

Both teams started to struggle shooting from the floor, but a pair of free throws from Troy Brown with 7:28 to play got the Ragin' Cajuns with three, 55-52.

However, the Panthers would not be denied for a second-straight year and on a jumper by Thomas retook a 10 point lead, 65-55, with 4:10 to play causing Louisiana to call its third timeout.

Louisiana would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Panthers continued to knock down their free throws.

Game Notes

  • Georgia State was playing in its 10th conference tournament championship game and improved to 6-4 in those games.
  • Georgia State improved to 4-1 against Louisiana in conference tournament games and 2-1 in championship games (2014 and 2015).
  • This marks the Panthers first championship title as a No. 3 seed.
  • Georgia State has now won 12 of its last 13 games.
  • Georgia State's 10-game streak is tied for the third-longest in program history.
  • The Panthers have won 11 of the last 12 neutral court conference tournament games.
  • Georgia State entered the Sun Belt Tournament as a No. 3-seed for the first time. Overall, this is the fifth time the Panthers have been a No. 3 seed in a conference tournament, first since 1999, and have combined for a 5-4 record as the seed.
  • GSU is 36-34 all-time in conference tournaments, and 13-5 since returning to the Sun Belt for the 2013-14 season.
  • Georgia State is now 6-7 on ESPN2 since the start of the 2013-14 season, with all of those being road or neutral court games.
  • Georgia State is 13-7 all-time in conference championships in the state of Florida, winning a conference championship in 1991 in DeLand which led to the Panthers' first NCAA Tournament appearance.
  • Georgia State has won eight-straight road/neutral games.
  • Georgia State has a 26-12 (.684) record in the month of March since the start of the 2013-14 season.
  • With the win on Dec. 6, senior Williams became the all-time wins leader in GSU program history moving ahead of Ryann Green and Chris Clerkley. He now has been a part of 101 wins in four-plus seasons.
  • Georgia State is 13-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points.
  • Since 2013-14, GSU has won more games (187) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.

Georgia State will now await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show which is scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m., to learn its tournament fate.