STATESBORO– The three-ball was raining down in Hanner Fieldhouse as Georgia Southern sunk a season-best 17 to knock down Georgia State 86-70 on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles (4-15, 4-3 Sun Belt) undid a 28-point loss in the previous meeting against the Panthers (9-9, 4-3) to improve to above .500 in conference play.
"The atmosphere was awesome. Our fans have been great," head coach Charlie Henry said. "They've been with us through thick and thin. We would have liked to play in front of them a few more times, but they've been awesome. The guys were fired up to get this one.
Perhaps a sign of things to come, Cam Bryant and Tyren Moore traded threes to open the game with a 6-0 run.
The Panthers did come back and take a three-point lead, but after a three by Malik Tidwell, the Eagles went ahead 17-15 and never trailed.
Eren Banks hit a deep ball to make it a 13-point deficit for the visitors, and Bryant hit three from beyond the arc in the final three minutes to head into the locker room up 12, the largest halftime lead of the season.
The Eagles made ten three-pointers in the first half.
The second half saw no difference. GSU got as close as five points, but Tidwell and Jamar Franklin cashed in threes to stretch it back up to double digits.
Eugene Brown III's three-pointer with 5:48 remaining was the 17th of the game for Georgia Southern, setting a new season-high.
After some late free throws, GS closed out the Panthers by a final score of 86-70.
Bryant's 19 points were a season-high, and his five threes made were a new career best.
"We've been shooting a bunch at practice and trying to make sure those threes fall," Bryant said. "We followed what Coach [Henry] was saying, to keep shooting."
Avantae Parker had a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds for a near-double-double, while Moore (15) and Franklin (11) also had double-digits. Moore set a new career mark with eight assists.
The Eagles shot 49.1 percent overall and 53.1 percent from long range. Their 19 assists were a season-high.
GS will take a two-game win streak to Boone to face Appalachian State on Thursday.
