Losing for the seventh consecutive time was torturous enough, but it was the lack of effort that was most bothersome to Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes.
The lack of intensity, especially in the second half, allowed a good South Alabama team to take control and roll to a 77-51 win over Georgia State on Saturday at the GSU Convocation Center and end a four-game losing streak to the Panthers.
“There’s a standard which we try to hold ourselves to, and the most elementary stage is just effort,” Hayes said. “I thought we failed miserably at that in the last 12 or 15 minutes of this game. That will never be accepted.”
Georgia Stat tied the score 33-33 on its first possession of the second half, and that’s when things went sideways. South Alabama had a 12-1 run, then a 17-0 run that put the Jags ahead 67-39 and in control.
“We’ve got to find guys that are committed to the right things, the right way of playing, the right way of interacting with people, the right decisions,” Hayes said. “Effort is a two-way street. You can play hard, but you can also play dumb. You just can’t be out there like a chicken running around with your head cut off. You’ve got to attach some intelligence to it.”
A bright spot on the dismal day was the performance of senior Toneari Lane, who seemed to rediscover the 3-point shot that made him a preseason second-team All-Sun Belt choice. Lane had made only 3 of 34 from distance over the past four games, but the Grayson product made 5 of 15 to lead the team with 15 points.
“I was happy to see a couple shots of his go in,” Hayes said. “He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do and him making five 3s, that bodes well for us going forward.”
Georgia State (4-10, 0-2 Sun Belt) also got 12 points, 10 in the first half, and six rebounds from Cesar Edwards. Clash Peters came off the bench to match his season high with six points and a team-high eight rebounds.
South Alabama (10-4, 2-0) got 22 points and eight rebounds from Barry Dunning Jr., with reserves Judah Brown (15 points) and J.J. Wheat (13) going a combined 11-for-17 from the field to supplement the scoring.
The Panthers had little success on offense to start the game and fell behind 8-2. They put together a 9-0 run and enjoyed a 13-10 lead after Edwards made a jumper in the lane.
But South Alabama began scoring on a series of midrange jumpers and led 31-20 with 3:51 left. This time GSU responded with a 10-2 run to close the half, a stretch that included 3-pointers by Lane and Malachi Brown, who knocked down his trey at the horn to cut South Alabama’s lead to 33-30 at halftime.
The Panthers also were undone by 16 turnovers that led to 23 points.
“And a lot of those turnovers were unforced,” Hayes said. “I think that is a part of our decision making that has been lacking and we’ve got to get better. We’re going to show film. We’re going to continue to have that be a focus in practice, but at some point we’ve got to take a step forward and execute when the lights are on.”
Georgia State returns home to host Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re not in a good space right now,” Hayes said. “As a team, it’s my job to figure that out. I’m confident in myself and confident in my staff that we’re going to get that accomplished.”
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