Panthers escape in Sun Belt opener

Justin Roberts scored 17 points and Corey Allen added 15 to help Georgia State survive a scare from Arkansas State and advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a 71-68 win Saturday in Pensacola, Fla.

The Panthers broke a 68-all tie when Eliel Nsoseme made one of two free throws with 1:00 left and freshman Evan Johnson made a pair with 28.7 seconds remaining.

Johnson then missed two free throws with 16 seconds remaining, but Malcolm Fairington missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied it, and Christian Willis missed the follow as time expired.

Georgia State finished with a 7-0 run over the final 1:57, and Arkansas State failed to score over the final 3:11.

Georgia State will play Louisiana-Lafayette at 6:30 p.m. today. The game can be seen on ESPN-Plus and heard locally on WRAS-FM 88.5.

Georgia State (15-5) got 11 points from Johnson and 10 points each from Nsoseme and Jalen Thomas. Nsoseme added 12 rebounds.

Arkansas State (10-13) was led by freshman Norchad Omier, who had 16 points and 18 rebounds.