Georgia State didn’t have the firepower to stay with No. 2 Auburn on Tuesday, but it wasn’t because of the lack of effort.
After a zombie-like performance against Charlotte on Saturday, the Panthers (4-7) responded with the sort of enthusiasm and intensity it will need to be competitive when Sun Belt Conference play begins on Saturday at Troy. Despite the 100-59 loss at Auburn, GSU’s third loss to a Southeastern Conference team, there were several steps taken in the right direction.
“We’ve got to consistently do that and continue to home in on playing together, finding our chemistry,” GSU coach Jonas Hayes said. “I thought we took a step in the right direction. I think Auburn is a national-championship caliber team.”
The ramped-up effort was evident by the way in which Georgia State attacked the glass. The Panthers had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and finished with 17. They matched Auburn 34-34 in rebounding and scored 20 second-chance points.
“We just have to stay true to our process and keeping coaching these guys up,” Hayes said. “They’ve got willing ears. You talk about the word ‘consistency’ and who can be consistent. That’s going to be key for us.”
The extra-effort leader on Tuesday was Nick McMullen, who finished with a season-high 16 rebounds and 15 points in almost 40 minutes of play. It was the fifth double-double of the season for the 6-foot-8 senior transfer from UNC Asheville, who leads the Sun Belt and ranks 12th in the nation in rebounding.
“He rebounds the mess out of the ball,” Hayes said. “It’s hard to take him off the court.”
Cesare Edwards bounced back from a two-point performance against Charlotte to post 15 points and seven rebounds against Auburn. He has scored in double-digits in four of the last five games.
Georgia State made too many turnovers. The Panthers gave it up 20 times, leading to 30 Auburn points. They struggled again from the perimeter, shooting 18.2 percent on 3-pointers and were 1-for-12 in the second half. Toneari Lane, the team’s best 3-point shooter, was 0-for-6 from distance.
“We’re going to get back to Atlanta and have an autopsy of this game and keep moving forward,” Hayes said. “This is our process. Sometimes it’s not as pretty as we all want, but this is our process.”
Auburn led 43-31 at halftime and GSU’s Malachi Brown hit a quick 3-pointer to cut the lead to nine. But the Tigers scored 11 straight games to up the lead to 20 points and Georgia State never got closer than 16. Auburn shot 60 percent from the field in the second half.
Auburn (10-1) was led by Chaney Johnson, who scored a season-high 26 points, and Chad Mazara-Baker scored 19.
Auburn lost 6-10 senior Johni Broome two minutes into the game with a shoulder injury. Broome entered the game averaging 19.7 points and 12.7, but exited after getting tangled up going for a rebound. After being examined by the medical staff, he spent the rest of the game sitting on the bench with his shoulder in a sling.
Hayes said the three SEC losses to Miss State, Kentucky and Auburn should all prove to be valuable as the season progresses.
“It just put us in adverse situations to see how we respond to adversity,” Hayes aid. “That’s a challenging position to have, but to win championships and get to the NCAA Tournament, you’re going to be put in so many tough situations. How do you respond? We have to be able to answer those questions as we move forward in our league schedule.”
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