ATLANTA – It was a back-and-forth affair that saw 22 lead changes, the most in a game played by the App State Men's Basketball team this season, but a late Toneari Lane 3-pointer to break a 59-59 tie with 1:15 to play and a Zarique Nutter and-one chance sent the Georgia State Panthers (12-15, 7-7 SBC) to victory on their home floor on Saturday. App State (16-10, 9-5 SBC) couldn't find the shots it needed late and fell 70-65 in Atlanta to close its three-game road trip.
After a fast-paced first half that saw both teams score in the high 30s, the Mountaineers were able to slow the game down to a pace they preferred as they held the Panthers to just 32 second-half points. But App State's offense went cold in the final frame of play, shooting just 37.9 percent after going 15-28 in the first half. Georgia State drilled six of its final nine field-goal attempts to close the game, despite making just one 3-pointer in the second half.
App State saw a balanced scoring effort against Georgia State as four players scored in double figures and seven players scored overall.
CJ Huntley tallied his team-leading seventh double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while
Myles Tate scored 16 points. Additionally,
Dior Conners scored 14 points on four 3-pointers and
Jalil Beaubrun tallied 10.
How it Happened
In the Mountaineers' final game of their three-game road trip, the Panthers and Malachi Brown started the game's scoring with a 3-pointer. App State quickly stormed back to take its first lead at 4-3 thanks to Huntley and Beaubrun's first scores. Georgia State reclaimed the lead at 5-4, but it was short-lived as
Alonzo Dodd streaked to the hoop for a basket, marking the third lead change of the game to that point.
A Cesare Edwards basket gave the Panthers the lead back but as part of the fifth lead change of the game in the first four minutes, Tate drilled a three from the left wing to make the score 9-7. The Panthers forced a turnover which led to a runout to give them the lead right back before Tate's second three gave App State a 12-10 advantage. When play hit the under-12 timeout, Georgia State had reclaimed the lead at 13-12.
On what was the ninth lead change in the first nine minutes, Beaubrun muscled his way to the basket for his second score, but the Panthers quickly answered with an Edwards basket. Georgia State took a 3-point lead at the 9:25 mark of the first half, but the Mountaineers scored five straight points to reclaim the lead at 19-17, the team's largest first-half advantage.
The Mountaineers maintained their advantage for the next two minutes of game time before Edwards scored to force the 12th lead change of the opening half. A dunk by
Luke Wilson off a slick find from Huntley made the score 23-22 App State with 6:26 to play, but two straight Panther 3-pointers gave them the lead again by the under-four break.
Jamil Muttilib's three forced yet another lead change with four minutes to go in the half. Georgia State responded by scoring six of the game's next eight points to take a four-point lead with 2:45 to play. The Panthers quickly went ahead by six points, their largest lead of the first half, at the 1:13 mark, seeing Nick McMullen score four straight.
App State answered the Georgia State run by netting five unanswered points to make the score 38-37 in favor of the Panthers at halftime. The Mountaineers used a driving layup by Dodd and a buzzer-beating three by Conners to do so.
It was a high-scoring first half at the GSU Convocation Center as both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field. Georgia State's Edwards tallied 18 of the Panthers' 38 points in the opening half of play. App State had five players tally at least six points in the first 20 minutes and drilled five of its 10 shots from the long line. The lead changed hands 16 times in the first half, which was tied for the most in a game played by App State this year (Sam Houston, Nov. 27).
Mimicking the pace from the first half, the lead changed hands two more times in the first four minutes of the second half. Back-to-back scores by Beaubrun and Huntley gave the Mountaineers a 42-40 lead at the 18:37 mark, but the Panthers responded with three of their own unanswered points to take a 43-42 lead. A free throw by Huntley tied the score at 43 by the first media timeout.
Out of the break, App State began to pull away, going on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead and forcing a Jonas Hayes timeout. It was the largest lead for the Mountaineers in the game. But the Panthers didn't let the game get too far out of reach as they used buckets by McMullen and Edwards to bring the score back within two at the under-12 timeout.
After being fouled on a 3-pointer, Brown tied the game at 50 apiece with 9:45 to go. Conners sent App State ahead by two points with a fastbreak layup, but continuing the trend of the game, Georgia State took the lead right back by the 6:07 mark, scoring four straight points.
Conners' 3-pointer with 5:37 to go in the game marked the 22nd and final lead change of the game. It was his third three of the game, marking his 10th game of the year with at least three made 3-pointers. But the Panthers used no time to take the lead back as Edwards capped off his 24-point game with a layup, putting the Panthers up by one point with five minutes to go.
The two teams traded baskets over the next 90 seconds and sent the game to the last media timeout tied at 57. Nutter and Tate both tallied baskets on the next two possessions to keep the score deadlocked until Lane drilled a three from the top of the key to put the Panthers on top 62-59.
Trailing by three with time creeping away, Tate sunk a clutch shot to tie the score again at 62, which was the sixth time the game was tied in the second half. Georgia State quickly took the ball out of the hoop and raced down the floor to score a layup to take a 65-62 lead with 35 seconds to go. App State missed a key layup late and failed to get a foul call, which resulted in two free throws by Nutter to put Georgia State up five points.
App State hit a three in the corner to trim its deficit to three points, but it was too late to matter. A pair of free throws by Lane iced the game, securing a 70-65 win for Georgia State on its home floor.
Top Performers
The Mountaineers had four players eclipse double figures against the Panthers.
Myles Tate paced the Black and Gold with 16 points, his 21st game of the year scoring in double figures. The point guard also dished out six assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
CJ Huntley recorded his seventh double-double of the season against the Panthers with 14 points and 10 rebounds. His 14 points was his 20th game in double figures this season.
Dior Conners also scored 14 points and hit four of the nine Mountaineer 3-pointers in the game.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will open their final homestand of the season next Thursday with a meeting against the Georgia Southern Eagles. App State will play its next two games at the Holmes Center. Tipoff from Boone is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the contest can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
