Too many turnovers proved Georgia State’s undoing Tuesday.
The Panthers committed 17 turnovers — five more than their season average — and saw their two-game win streak end in a 62-50 loss to Austin Peay in the Jacksonville Classic at Florida State College.
“That’s something we have to get figured out,” Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes said. “It’s something we’ve talked about, and we’re committed to getting better, but we’re not there yet. Ball care and ball security is a priority.”
The mistakes led to 19 points for Austin Peay and prevented the Panthers from settling into any sort of offensive rhythm. Georgia State shot only 38.5% from the field and made only 5 of 13 of their 3-point shots.
The poor shooting was a reversal from Georgia State’s performance Friday when it shot 70.2% from the floor — second-best in school history — in a win over North Carolina Central.
“It was a combination of a lot,” Hayes said. “You can’t turn the ball over 17 times. You don’t get a shot at all and you start pressing, you miss a couple of bunnies around the rim, miss a couple of paint shots, and it kind of snowballs on you. It all starts from the fundamental standpoint of not being able to take care of the ball. It’s something that we’re going to correct. We’re going to get it right.”
Georgia State’s top scorer was Zarique Nutter, who scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half. The Northern Illinois transfer was 9-for-14 from the line with three assists.
Malachi Brown was the only other Georgia State player in double figures. All 10 of his points came in the first half. He was 3-for-5 on 3-pointers with three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Toneari Lane scored eight points, and Nick McMullen, the leading rebounder in the Sun Belt Conference, had a game-high 12 boards.
Austin Peay was led by North Carolina State transfer L.J. Thomas with 25 points. But Thomas injured his right leg in the final two minutes and had to be helped off the court. Tekao Carpenter scored 12 points on four 3-point baskets.
Georgia State put together a 10-0 run in the first half and took a 22-19 lead, its biggest advantage of the game. But the offense could not maintain the clip and trailed 32-26 at halftime.
Austin Peay led by nine at 43-34 when Georgia State tried to cut into the lead at the free-throw line. The Panthers got as close as 43-40 when the Governors used a 9-2 run — getting a pair of 3′s from Thomas and another from Carpenter — to provide the distance they needed.
“We stopped guarding the three-line, got comfortable,” Hayes said. “It was just a total lackadaisical effort from everybody’s standpoint — coaches, players, all of us. But I believe in this group and we’ve got a lot of talent. We’ll get it right.”
The Panthers (3-3) will meet Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the second game of the tournament. The Golden Hurricane improved to 4-3 with a 63-44 win over Detroit Mercy on Wednesday. Tulsa features former GSU standout Dwon Odom, who scored 11 points in the win.
