TROY, Ala. — The Georgia State basketball team will be happy to see Alabama in the rearview mirror.
The Panthers lost for the third consecutive time in the Cotton State on Saturday, falling 77-57 to Troy in the Sun Belt Conference opener. Georgia State (4-8) has lost five in a row going into a brief Christmas break before returning to host Mercer on Saturday in the final non-conference game of the season.
“I’m disappointed to say the least,” Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes said. “We’re going to use the break to kind of reset. We’re going to figure it out. I’m committed to what we’re doing, and I’m committed to these guys. I believe in these guys but we’ve hit kind of a rough patch and we have 17 league games to go, but this is as disappointed as I’ve been in a little bit.”
The Panthers ran head-on into a veteran Troy team that returned its entire roster — a rare feat in today’s collegiate atmosphere — and plays a relentless physical style. Troy’s bullish nature allowed them to control the glass, outrebounding the Panthers 43-29, and causing GSU to come up with empty possessions. Of Georgia State’s 64 possessions, 21.9% ended up in a turnover and only 40.6% ended up with points.
“We got dominated on the glass and that’s not the team we’ve been,” Hayes said. “To get dominated on the glass is disappointing. Again, we’ve got capable guys in that locker room. We’ve just got to get through it and put our grown-up trousers on and figure this out.”
There were a few bright spots in the loss.
Jelani Hamilton came off the bench to provide some scoring punch. The Iowa State transfer made five 3-pointers and scored 18. Clash Peters, the 6-9 power forward, relentlessly battled in the paint and had five rebounds. Darnell Evans was forced to play nearly 24 minutes at point guard after Malachi Brown sprained his ankle in the first half and provided a boost of energy. The injury is considered minor, and Brown is expected back for the next game.
Troy (8-4) got 22 points from Myles Rigsby to lead its balanced attack.
Troy showed its toughness early with a physical, pressing style that knocked GSU off its game. The Trojans dominated the glass, outrebounding the Panthers 23-12 — with 11 offensive rebounds — in the first half. Georgia State had seven turnovers, leading to 12 points for Troy, but the Panthers had zero points off turnovers.
Had it not been for the outside lift provided by Hamilton, who nailed four 3-pointers, and Zarique Nutter — who scored all 10 of his points in the first half — the Panthers would have been in a world of hurt. Hamilton 3-pointer got GSU as close as 18-15 with 10:33 left, only to have Troy score 10 consecutive points and up its lead to 13 points. Troy led 39-25 at halftime.
The second half started well with a layup by Nick McMullen, but the relentless Trojans scored 10 consecutive, including a pair of 3-pointers by Miles Rigsby and suddenly the margin was 22 points. Georgia State never got closer than 15 points.
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