Jan 28, 2002
Box Score
ATLANTA, Ga - Nate Williams scored 17 points to lead all scorers and Georgia State outscored Samford 17-5 in the last nine and a half minutes to defeat the Bulldogs 60-48 at GSU Sports Arena on Monday.
Samford (11-10, 8-5) began the second half on a 7-0 run to take its first lead, 34-33, and tied Georgia State (12-8, 8-5 A-Sun) at 43-43 with 9:50 remaining in the game. After that the Bulldogs went cold, however, scoring only one field goal in the last 9:30 of the game. The Panthers shot 55 percent from the field, while the Bulldogs shot under 40 percent for the second consecutive game. Williams scored 10 of GSU's final 17 points in the run.
Georgia State runs were Samford's downfall. The Panthers held the Bulldogs scoreless for a five-minute stretch in the first half and put a 15-4 run on Samford over eight minutes to take its largest lead of the game, 30-17. Samford responded with a 9-2 run of its own to only trail by six at halftime, 32-26. GSU finished the game by holding the Bulldogs to only one field goal in the last 9:30.
Georgia State outrebounded the Bulldogs 29 to 26, but Samford grabbed a season-high 12 offensive rebounds. Samford committed 14 turnovers to 10 assists, while the Panthers had 13 assists and 15 miscues. Neither team was stellar from three-point range, as Samford struggled at 21 percent and GSU fired 36 percent.
The loss was Samford's fourth consecutive conference road loss, third consecutive loss overall and the first three-game conference losing streak since 1997-98, Tillette's first year. Georgia State extended its current win streak to three.
Eddie Harper led Samford with 11 points off the bench, along with Corey Green with 10 points and seven rebounds as the only Bulldogs in double figures. Thomas Terrell scored 14 for GSU and Bam Campbell added 10. Panther guard Lamont McIntosh finished with only six points but a game-high of nine rebounds.
Harper was the only Bulldog to make more than three shots on the night, and only Jon Mills knocked down more than one three-pointer. Harper finished the game 5-for-7 from the field and 1-for-3 from three-point range. Mills was 3-for-8 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range.
Samford returns home to host Belmont at 2 p.m. on Feb. 2 in Seibert Hall.
