Trailing by as much as 12 in the first half and 11 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the second, Georgia Southern men's basketball (14-14, 6-9 SBC) battled all the way back to force overtime, but couldn't finish the job at App State (17-10, 10-5), losing 79-74 on Thursday.
GS struggled early on to the tune of a 1-8 shooting mark from three, the lone conversion coming from Eren Banks and trailing 21-9 with 10:15 left. Eugene Brown III cashed one in to make it a nine-point deficit by the under-eight.
The Eagles erased the deficit over the next eight minutes thanks to a 14-3 run. Adante' Holiman was perfect on a four-point play, shrinking the deficit to 29-25, then hit a layup and a three on the next two possessions to tie the game at 30.
Holiman missed a three on the following possession, but Collin Kuhl collected the offensive rebound and fought through the paint, giving the Eagles their first lead of the contest at 1:58.
App went on a 10-0 run over the final two minutes to lead by eight, and the Eagles cut the lead to five heading into the break after Holiman hit all three free throws.
App's lead ballooned to as much as 11 at 12:38 of the second half, but the Eagles weren't done. After Bradley Douglas sunk a three, Braylhan Thomas was fouled on a good basket and made the ensuing free throw after the under 12, making it a 56-51 game.
Douglas hit yet another three and found a streaking Tyson Brown for a dunk at 8:24, knotting the game at 58.
Once again letting the tie game slip to a six-point lead for the home team, the Eagles found some late life and defensive stops. Nakavieon White made a layup with a little over three minutes remaining, and after a few empty possessions, App snatched the lead back - 68-66 with 1:32 left.
White missed a lay-in, but Kuhl had his back, making the tip-in with 13 seconds left to seal the tie. App's attempt was long at the buzzer, forcing the third consecutive overtime game in the series for the two teams.
The Eagles struggled to make field goals in overtime and App took advantage, outscoring the visitors 11-6 in the period and emerging with a 79-74 win.
Holiman had his third consecutive 20-point game, the second Eagle to do so this season. Bradley Douglas (18) and Tyson Brown (12) joined him in double figures.
Brown notched his second consecutive double-double with 10 rebounds, the first Eagle to do so since Andrei Savrasov (2/11-2/16/23). Banks had his first-career double-digit rebounding game, also having 10, the first time since 12/7/22 that the Eagles had a pair with 10 or more rebounds (Savrasov and Carlos Curry).
The Eagles have their final road game next at James Madison.
