Jelani Hamilton made his first start count and was instrumental in helping Georgia State help erase last week’s disappointing meltdown loss on the road.
Hamilton scored 30 points – the most by a Georgia State player this season – and helped the Panthers (2-2) to a 106-66 win over Toccoa Falls, a small school from north Georgia that competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
And while the competition wasn’t close to what they faced in last week’s loss to Jacksonville State, when they wasted a 13-point lead with less than eight minutes to play, it arrived at an appropriate time and gave the Panthers a chance to blow off some steam.
“Just playing hard, playing our brand of basketball,” said freshman forward Clash Peters, who led the team with 13 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass. “We didn’t really want to play to our competition, regardless of the score, regardless of anything. We just wanted to play Georgia State basketball, play how we’re coached every day.”
Coach Jonas Hayes switched around the starting lineup and inserted Hamilton and Aaron Oh, who hit a 3-pointer for the opening basket.
Hamilton is a 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman who transferred in from Iowa State. The local Wheeler High School product shot 11-for-17 from the field, including 5 of 10 on 3-pointers, with seven rebounds and four steals in 30 minutes. He became the first Panther to score 30 since Dwon Odom against Coastal Carolina in January 2023.
“You saw today what he’s capable of and I’m proud of his process and he’s going to stay faithful to it,” Hayes said.
Hamilton, who gave a preview by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers off the bench in the last game, said, “Just trying to come back and find my rhythm, just be the same person every day. Just get better, as much as I can, and tonight show what I can do.”
Veteran Toneari Lane made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points and Cesare Edwards added 10 points and five rebounds. Nick McMullen had nine points and nine rebounds. Malachi Brown scored nine points and had five steals.
Georgia State used 11 different players and 10 scored.
Toccoa Falls was led by Kaleb Thomas, who was 7-for-10 from the floor and scored 17 points.
But the Eagles were no match for Georgia State’s size. The Panthers had a 51-25 edge on the boards, scored 52 points in the paint and had 27 second-chance points.
“We had an idea that we went into the off-season wanting to win the paint, win the line of scrimmage or win the trenches,” Hayes aid. “I thought we’ve done that. We’ve gotten bigger, we’ve gotten more depth and I think that’s going to pay dividends as we move forward and get everybody healthy.”
Georgia State improved to 4-0 all-time against Toccoa Falls. The Panthers play at home on Friday against North Carolina Central before going on the road for three challenging games next week – against Austin Peay and Tulsa in the Jacksonville Classic and at Kentucky.
