Georgia Southern men's basketball (8-8, 1-3 SBC) could not get over the hump in an overtime setback to Georgia State (6-10, 2-2), falling 82-78 on Wednesday.
Trading the first few buckets, the Eagles took a 15-14 lead on a breakaway dunk by Eugene Brown III at 11:57. The lead stretched to six around the four-minute mark after Adante' Holiman converted an and-one in his return to the lineup.
Tied with under 10 seconds left, Dontae Horne nailed a three-pointer to go up by three heading into the break seemingly, but a half-court heave by GSU's Zarique Nutter knotted things at 38 after one frame.
After the Panthers surged to a six-point lead in the second half, a mad dash by the Eagles put them back in front. Eren Banks fought for a tough lay-in at 9:26 to lead by two.
The teams kept pace with one another over the final nine minutes. Needing a stop and score with a minute left after Holiman converted a free throw, the Eagles got just that. Holiman stole the ball and found Bradley Douglas on a 2-on-1, who got to the basket and tied things at 69. Holiman had a chance to win it with nine seconds left but missed the layup and the teams went to overtime.
GS never led during the overtime period. Down two after a GSU missed a three-pointer, Banks was blocked on a layup that could have tied it with 14 seconds left. The Panthers converted all their free throws and took the first rivalry matchup 82-78.
Holiman led the way with 19 points, while Horne (14) went 6-9 from the field and Douglas (12) joined them in double figures. Banks had nine, and Tyson Brown had one of his best performances of the season, scoring nine points and grabbing a Henry-era high 14 rebounds - the first Eagle with that many since Carlos Curry had 15 on Nov. 26, 2022.
GS shot just 8-16 from the line and 8-38 (21.1%) from three in the loss.
The Eagles will be back on Saturday in Huntington against Marshall.
