In a back-and-forth second half, Georgia State’s inability to hit shots late in the game proved to be costly for the Panthers as Northern Illinois escaped with a 75-74 victory in a nonconference matchup Saturday.

The second half featured five lead changes, with neither team leading by more than seven points. The Panthers led by seven points with 12:11 to play (56-49) but could not hold the lead.

Georgia State finished the game missing 10 of its final 11 shots from the field and did not make a field goal over the final 3:53 of the game.

The Panthers (9-16, 6-6 Sun Belt Conference) were led in scoring by Jelani Hamilton and Micah Tucker, who each finished with 16 points. Malachi Brown had 11 points.

Makhai Valentine had a game-high 23 points along with six rebounds for Northern Illinois (8-14, 3-7 Mid-American Conference). Dylan Ducommun scored 13 points and added eight assists. Taj Walters recorded 12 points and eight rebounds.

Georgia State’s next game will be at James Madison on Thursday.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this article.

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