Fierce late rally lifts Panthers

GSU’s 8-0 run in final 1:13 snaps 2-game losing skid.

Devin Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 11 seconds left completed an eight-point rally and lifted Georgia State to a 78-77 win over South Alabama on Saturday at GSU Sports Arena.

Georgia State closed the game with an 8-0 run in the final 1:13 to snap its two-game losing streak.

It started with three free throws by Mitchell with 1:13 left.

“Those were huge, absolutely huge,” coach Ron Hunter said. “He saw it go in so that shot in the corner was easier.”

The run continued with two free throws by Malik Benlevi, and ended with the 3 by Mitchell. Without a point guard on the final possession because they are all injured, Hunter wanted his shooters spaced around the perimeter because he wanted a 3-pointer for the win. He didn’t want the game go to overtime. Jordan Session ran a ball screen, and Justin Seymour hit Mitchell in the corner.

Benlevi led Georgia State (8-6, 1-1 Sun Belt) with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Jeremy Hollowell and Jeff Thomas added 15.

Here are five observations about the game:

Free throws and turnovers. Hunter said the Panthers won the game because of their free-throw shooting in the second half. After making 2 of 9 in the first half, Georgia State made 15 of 17 in the second. South Alabama made 3 of 3 in the first half, but only 9 of 18 in the second.

Georgia State committed 16 turnovers, but only two in the final 3:16. South Alabama committed 18 turnovers, including two in the final 1:11.

Injuries. Georgia State may be forced to play Troy on Monday without guard D’Marcus Simonds (knee), who Hunter said may return next weekend; Austin Donaldson, who suffered a neck injury near the end of Saturday’s game; and Isaiah Williams, who suffered an shoulder injury a few days ago, but managed to play four minutes Saturday.

Lots of 3-pointers. A decent 3-point shooting team (36 percent), the Panthers let fly against the Jaguars with 27 attempts, seven made.

In the first half, Georgia State took 30 shots, 17 of which were 3-pointers. They made five (29.4 percent).

South Alabama, a poor 3-point shooting team (28.6 percent), made 11 of 23, including 6 of 13 in the first half.

Jeff Thomas gets hot. When Thomas signed with Georgia State, some players said he had a better jump shot than R.J. Hunter, who is the school’s all-time leading scorer. While Thomas’ stroke is solid, it hasn’t resulted in anything close to what Hunter did.

He averaged 6.1 points on 37 percent shooting as a freshman last season, and is averaging 6.5 points this season. He came off the bench and made two 3-pointers Saturday, but he was locked on with his midrange jumper. He made 6 of 13, 2 of 8 3-pointers.

“I thought our bench was terrific,” Hunter said.

Seymour finished with seven points, Donaldson and Mitchell six each and Clayton five points and seven rebounds.

Jeremy Hollowell is not hot. The senior and the team’s leading scorer (14.8) continued to struggle with his shooting, making 5 of 14, including 1 of 7 3-pointers, before fouling out with 6:35 left.

It was the fifth consecutive game in which he didn’t make at least 50 percent of his shots. During the four previous games, he was shooting 38 percent.