- Thomas’ Career High 30 Leads Georgia State To 62-60 Win Over Mercer - November 14, 2018
- Georgia State Unanimous Preseason Favorite; Simonds Sun Belt Preseason Player Of The Year; Mitchell All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team - October 26, 2018
- Georgia State Football: Panthers Win 24-20 On Last Second TD - August 31, 2018
DAYTON, Ohio-Despite a career-high 28 points from junior Devin Mitchell, Georgia State fell to Dayton 88-83 in overtime on Saturday night at UD Arena.
Mitchell finished as one of three Panthers in double figures as sophomore D’Marcus Simonds added 21 points and senior Isaiah Williams came off the bench to add 15.
Despite being in foul trouble most of the night, Simonds lay-up with 2.3 seconds to play in regulation sent the game into overtime after Georgia State (7-4) trailed by double figures multiple times in the second half.
Dayton (5-5) was led by Josh Cunningham who scored 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as all five of the Flyers starting line-up finished in double figures.
Mitchell knocked down a 3-pointer to open overtime, but Dayton responded with a 7-0 run and Georgia State was never able to get closer than two following a pair of free throws by freshman Kane Wiliams with 20.6 seconds to play.
“I thought our guys came out and played extremely hard tonight,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “It is tough when you come on the road and give up 38 free throws. We have to do a better job of not fouling, but I thought our guys gave everything they had especially with D’Marcus and Malik in foul trouble and on the bench for most of the second half.”
Hunter, who hails from Dayton and played at Chaminade-Julienne High School before attending Miami (Ohio), brought his team back to Dayton for the second time in three years. The Panthers earned a win at Wright State during the 2015-16 season.
Mitchell finished 9-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-10 from 3-point range, while Simonds, who had scored 30-plus in two of the last three games, finished 6-of-16, but a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Darrell Davis added 22 points for Dayton, while Trey Landers, Jordan Davis and John Crosby each scored in double figures.
Dayton built an early 18-11 lead with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half before back-to-back 3-pointers by Isaiah Williams cut the Flyers lead to just one.
Trailing by 10, Georgia State used a 7-0 run to cut Dayton’s lead to 27-24 with 9:01 to play. Six minutes late on a jumper by Simonds, Georgia State took its first lead of the game, 33-32, and pushed the lead to four points with just under two minutes remaining in the half.
Dayton responded and went into the locker room leading 40-36 despite the Panthers knocking down 5-of-10 from 3-point range. The difference in the opening half was Dayton going 14-of-20 from the free throw line, while Georgia State went just 5-of-11.
Dayton pushed the lead to 48-40 early in the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers with 16:26 to play.
Trailing by eight, Georgia State responded again with a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers from Simonds and Isaiah Williams to take a 67-65 lead with 4:25 to play.
Down four with 1:52 remaining, Mitchell hit another 3-pointer to cut Dayton’s lead to just 71-70.
In the final minute, twice trailing by two, Simonds hit two free throws with 44 seconds to play and then the game tying basket with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Georgia State finished the game 18-of-27 from the free throw line, while Dayton went 26-of-38. The Panthers forced 16 turnovers which led to 26 points, but got outrebounded on the glass by 10.
Georgia State will continue its stretch of five-straight road games by completing a home-and-home series with UMass. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
