It was the sort of win that Georgia State has needed all season.
Down by as many as 16 in the first half, the Panthers outscored Coastal Carolina by 18 points in the second half and roared back to stun the Chanticleers 79-74 on Saturday at the GSU Convocation Center and extend their win streak to a season-long three games.
“We’re learning how to win,” GSU coach Jonas Hayes said. “We’re learning how to win as a unit, and that’s what I’m most proud of with this group.”
Georgia State (7-10, 3-2 Sun Belt) now has built some momentum for the tough road trip that takes the Panthers to Texas State on Wednesday and Arkansas State on Saturday.
“Everybody’s smiling,” GSU center Cesare Edwards said. “But we’re also not complacent. We know what’s still ahead of us, but we’re happy we’re finally trying to come together and keep stacking wins. We just trust the process.”
The second half was the difference. The Panthers shot 56.7% from the floor (17-for-30), made 5 of 11 3-pointers, were 9-for-10 at the free-throw line, outrebounded the Chants 19-12 and committed only three turnovers.
Zarique Nutter scored 15 of his season-high 23 points in the second half and finished with 8-for-12 shooting and 6-for-6 at the line. Toneari Lane played all 40 minutes and scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers, with six rebounds. Edwards, who scored 11 in the first half, finished with 15 and had nine rebounds. Nick McMullen finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Lane scored his 1,000th career point on a 3-pointer that gave GSU a late six-point lead. Lane’s 3-point shooting has turned around; he’s 8-for-23 over the past three games after enduring a 3-for-34 stretch.
Coastal Carolina used a 10-0 run to take a 12-2 lead and knocked down six 3-pointers in building a 22-6 lead. Georgia State had an 8-0 stretch to get as close as eight points before Coastal closed strong and led 44-31 at halftime.
The Chanticleers were 10-for-17 on 3′s in the first half with Rasheed Jones, a redshirt sophomore on his third team in three seasons, the primary culprit. The 6-foot-6 guard scored 15 points in the half, going 5-for-8 on 3′s, but Jones scored only once in the second half and finished with 18. And Coastal did not make a 3-pointer in the second half in seven tries.
“They made 10 3′s in the first half. They made zero in the second half, so we did a better job covering the 3,” Hayes said. “They were kind of killing us in the middle of the paint, but that’s kind of where you pick your poison. We made that adjustment, and we were pretty good at it.”
Georgia State opened the second half on an 8-1 run and tied the game 48-48 with 13:46 left on a bucket by Nutter, one possession after GSU’s Malik Ferguson forced a shot-clock violation. Ferguson didn’t score, but provided 10 solid minutes of relief at point guard.
“I don’t think we win that game unless Malik played those minutes,” Hayes said.
The Panthers took the lead for good when Nutter made a pair of free throws with 9:12 remaining. Georgia State stretched the lead to nine on a 3-pointer by Malachi Brown and a pair of free throws from Lane that sealed the victory with 18 seconds left.
Coastal Carolina (8-9, 1-4) also got 15 points from Jordan Battle and 13 points and 11 rebounds from 7-footer Noah Amenhauser.
Also Saturday, the Georgia State women (7-8, 1-4) lost the first part of the Convocation Center doubleheader, 80-72 against Troy. The Panthers led 35-34 at halftime, but were outscored 22-10 in the third quarter, with Troy scoring the final 11 points of the period, and never caught up. GSU was led by Patie Williams with 18 points and seven rebounds, Mikyla Tolivert with 14 points, and Crystal Henderson and Kaleigh Addie with 13 points. The GSU women play again Thursday at Coastal Carolina.
