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ATLANTA – A 10-0 Georgia State run in the final five minutes of the first half gave the Panthers the lead for good in a 70-55 win over the University of South Alabama men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.

The Panthers go to 10-3 on the year overall and 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars drop to 6-9, 1-3.

"I thought we played really well for the first 13-14 minutes and it was back-and-forth there a little bit," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "It was a one- or two-possession game and we had an opportunity cut it, but we missed a dunk and gave up a transition '3' on the other end. That five-point swing really deflated us going into halftime.

"Defensively I thought we did a really good job. They shot less than 40 percent and they went in stretches where they couldn't score the basketball; the problem is, we weren't taking advantage on the other end, whether it was turning the ball over making the home-run play, or we weren't quite finishing at the rim. We had a couple of open, kick-out 3s that just didn't go down tonight."

GSU led for most of the first half and used an 8-0 run to take a 22-15 lead with 7:24 left, but USA countered with a 9-1 spurt, getting seven points from junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria).

The Jaguar lead would be short-lived as the Panthers scored the next 10-0 points, starting on its next possession on a layup from Jeremy Hollowell. Five of those points came at the free-throw line and Jeff Thomas hit a big 3-pointer for an eight-point advantage.

On the other end, South Alabama missed three straight shots and committed back-to-back turnovers. The team made just one field goal over the last 5:20 of the half and a triple from Isaiah Dennis with just seconds left before halftime gave the Panthers a 38-28 lead at intermission.

"That was very deflating," Graves said. "We never recovered and showed enough resolve during that stretch. You're playing one of the better teams in the league on their home floor; they're going to make some plays and some runs and you have to hang tough. We have to continue to put our guys in good positions to be able to make plays and score. Unfortunately we weren't able to put our guys in enough successful places in the second half."

Defensively South Alabama kept Georgia State to just 37.7 percent shooting overall, the second-lowest by an opponent in a loss this season, and held the Panthers to just one field goal over a stretch of 8:16 midway through the second half. Unfortunately, the Jags went 7:08 with just one conversion from the floor and still trailed by 14.

"Our defense was the theme of the week," Graves noted. "It gave us an opportunity to win both games. Obviously we won on Thursday and tonight we didn't win. When we get back to work on Sunday night, we cannot lose sight of our defense giving us a chance to win. We have to continue to be sharp and make better decisions, and continue to finish through contact around the rim a little better."

Boyanov had a team-high 16 points, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. He scored 15 points in the first half alone, and was held to one point on 0 for 3 shooting after halftime.

"I thought Georgi was really good in the first half," Graves said. "He was flashing in there and finding openings around the basket. In the second half, they made an adjustment; we were still able to get him the ball, but when he was doing the right thing and kicking out to shooters, we just weren't able to knock them in."

Junior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) was the only other Jaguar in double figures with 12 points.

For Georgia State, Hollowell led all scorers with 23, and Kevin Ware added 20. They combined to go 14 for 15 at the free-throw line.

South Alabama hosts Texas State Thursday night at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: Junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) was held to seven points, leaving him three points shy of 1,000 for his career… Williams was averaging 22.5 points in his previous two games… South Alabama has lost six straight overall to Georgia State and five in a row in Atlanta; the last Jaguar win in Atlanta was in 1982… The Jags fall to 6-1 when winning the shooting battle (39.6% - 37.7%)… Boyanov's 15 points tie the most by a USA player before halftime this season; he had 15 of the team's 28 first-half points… USA is 1-8 when scoring fewer than 70 points… The Jaguars are shooting 17.6 percent (6-34) from 3-point land in their last two outings.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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