Georgia State Survives A Shootout Versus Arkansas State

D’Marcus Simonds took a drive early in the first quarter and was met by two defenders. Then he remembered how good his jumper was. Simonds would score 33 points mostly on jumpers (four three pointers) to lead the Georgia State Panthers (11-6) over the Arkansas State Red Wolves (6-11) 79-75.

The Arkansas State defense collapsed at every chance in the lane and had players in position to contend shots at the rim. The Panthers plan was just let it fly. They hit ten three pointers for the game which was only one more make than Arkansas State.
Neither team excelled at scoring around the rim. Both teams had exactly 26 made shots from the field and both took a heavy dose of jumpers. The Red Wolves implemented a hard zone for big chunk of the first half then switched out after the Panthers starting draining jumpers.

Isaiah Williams finished with 12 points and seemed to be the only Panthers player who could finish at the rim consistently. The Red Wolves leading scorer Deven Simms didn’t dissapoint. He finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. He hit both of his threes and also slammed home a few ferocious dunks. He also drew the defensive assignment a few times on Simonds and did a real nice job when given the chance.

Ty Cockfield added 14 points and four rebounds for Arkansas State, but was very quiet for the most part. The Red Wolves kept coming back when down but the Panthers wouldn’t let up.

Georgia State led by one at halftime and nearly blew the lead at the end. Simms tied the game for Arkansas State at 72-72. Jeff Thomas who added 10 points and five rebounds came right back to nail a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to put Georgia  State up for good.

Game Notes:
-The Panthers are now 2-2 in the Sunbelt Confrence, Arkansas State is now 3-1

-Coming into the game, Georgia State was second defensively in the Sunbelt Conference allowing only 66.1 points per game

-The Panthers next game is 1/11/18 at Appalachian State