PANTHERS FALL: State drop home finale

Georgia State hosted the Old Dominion Monarchs Wednesday night in the final home game of the year, but it was the visiting Monarchs who came out on top 65-61 in overtime. The Panthers started strong by taking a 34-31 lead into the locker room behind 15 early points from senior Jihad Ali.

The second half and overtime were different stories as the Panthers struggled to regain their offensive rhythm from the first half, and got out-muscled on the glass. The game was tied at 56 at the end of regulation, and the Monarchs came out and scored the first five points of overtime. taking a 61-56 lead with under two to go in the extra period.

After Eric Buckner split a pair of free throws, Ali hit a three to cut the lead to 61-60 with just over 35 seconds on the clock. ODU’s Nick Wright made both of his free throws to extend the lead back to three. On the next possession Jihad Ali took a long three that went begging with 13 seconds to go.

This loss was a deflating one as the Panthers had many opportunities to extend the lead late in the game, but were unable to capitalize. The three major issues that derailed the Panthers’ hopes for victory were free throw shooting, defensive rebounding and turnovers. Georgia State struggled from the charity stripe going 13-for-21 and missing some key free throws late in the second half.

On defense they were unable to contain the Monarch big men, who collected 25 offensive rebounds. While ODU was able to give themselves second-chance opportunities all night, the Panthers were only able to grab nine offensive boards and were out-rebounded 52-39 in total. To compound the problems on the boards, the Panthers turned the ball over 15 times. The lack of ball security, inability to limit the Monarchs to one shot possessions and failure to convert at the free throw lines all led to the second half struggles and the overtime loss.

The loss stung even more because it was the final game at home for six Panther seniors; Jihad Ali, Eric Buckner, James Fields, Brandon McGee, Jamar Taylor and Josh Micheaux. Ali led all scorers with 20 points, while Buckner added to his incredible block total taking it to 104 for the season. McGee and Fields both hit some big shots late in the second half to keep the Panthers in the ball game, but ultimately it just wasn’t enough.

The seniors will have one more regular season game, on the road Saturday at William & Mary. They will look to get the bad taste out of their mouth and get back on track heading into the CAA Tournament. These seniors are having the most success of their careers this season, so expect the Panthers to be a tough out in the conference tournament, and to play with intense passion and heart as they try to extend this phenomenal season.