STATESBORO– After leading for most of the game, Georgia Southern men's basketball saw a late surge from Texas State to take a four-point lead with four minutes left, but stormed right back, beating the Bobcats 84-76 on Thursday.
"That's a great team, and they play really tough," head coach Charlie Henry said. "Even when we were up nine at half, I knew they would swing it, but it was good to overcome that and walk out of here with a win."
The Eagles (6-22, 6-9 Sun Belt) battled to an early 9-3 lead before the Bobcats (11-18, 4-12) could make a field goal.
A Tyren Moore floater stretched the lead to ten with six minutes remaining.
After a few buckets for both sides, Jamar Franklin nailed a three-ball to put the Eagles up nine heading into the locker room at 36-27.
The Bobcats made just ten field goals and shot 29 percent in the opening frame.
The Eagles kept the foot on the gas early in the second frame, with Moore's three at 16:36 stretching the lead to 12, the largest it would be during the game.
Texas State followed with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes, and save for a Collin Kuhl layup in between, rallied back to make it a three-point game again.
Franklin rained in another three to put the score up to 60-55, however, Texas State jumped ahead for the first time all game with a dunk and layup, leading 64-62.
Georgia Southern went on a quick 7-0 run to undo that and stretch the lead to five. With a little over a minute left, Eugene Brown III hit a dagger three to force the Bobcats to foul in the remaining minutes.
The Eagles sunk all their free throws and pulled out an 84-76 win, snapping a six-game losing streak.
Moore led the way with 21, while Banks (19), Franklin (16) and Brown (13) all scored in double figures. Avantae Parker reached 10 rebounds for just the second time this season.
Franklin tied his career high with four threes made as the Eagles shot 52.7 percent overall.
"In the second half, our energy dropped off, but we figured out a way to pick it back up," Franklin said. "I just had to be confident in my ability to make those shots when I was open, and to not overthink it."
Georgia Southern will honor its alumni and four former players in its next matchup against JMU on Saturday.