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The Georgia State Panthers took on the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks for their 17th all-time match-up. With the series tied at eight wins apiece, the rubber match should have been set for a great game. The Panthers showed they had a different feeling on how the game would go.
Georgia State defeated Louisiana Monroe 84-62 in a near wire to wire victory. The Panthers held the Warhawks to 39.2% shooting from the field and they forced 14 turnovers. Georgia state did a particularly great job defending the Warhawks two leading scorers. The duo of Michael Ertel and JD Williams came into the game averaging 31.4 points per game for ULM.
The two combined to miss a total of 26 shots, ten of which were from downtown. Ertel didn’t score his first bucket until around nine minutes left in the first half and finished with 10 points. Williams only had four points at halftime and seemed to force up some shots in the second half to finish with 14.
After the Warhawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead they never could get it back. Panthers guard Justin Roberts drained a three to give GSU a 3-2 lead which would be a precursor for how the rest of the day would go.
Roberts would hit a total of seven threes finishing up with a game high 23 points. The Panthers shot 56.5% from long range and they hit eight more threes than the Warhawks finished with. Five Panthers knocked down a shot from long range and the Panthers had four players score double digits.
The Panthers offense was free flowing all day, racking up 18 assists on 30 made field goals. They scored 24 points on the fast break and in the process they tired out the Warhawks who looked lethargic by the second half.
Panthers Notes:
GSU’s leading scorer Corey Allen finished with 18 points, shooting 7-9 from the field. Damon Wilson and Nelson Phillips both finished with 11 points.
The Panthers have now pushed their win streak to two games after losing two in a row. GSU has an average margin of 30.0 in the two victories.
The Panthers next game will be January 16th at South Alabama.
