at 71 with 38 seconds left, Bradley Douglas, who was held pointless to that point, cashed in a corner three to give Georgia Southern men's basketball (16-15, 8-10 SBC) a one-point win over rival Georgia State (13-18, 8-10) in the regular season finale, winning 76-75 on Friday.
"Great to get a win tonight. They played well and had a halftime lead, and we couldn't separate from them," Bice-Peace head coach Charlie Henry said. "We made some timely plays and timely shots, and it's great to walk out of here with a big win."
A three by Dontae Horne opened the floodgates for the Eagles early on after a hot start for the Panthers. Down two, Nakavieon White tied things at 11 with 14:59 left.
The lead changed hands over the next seven minutes, with the Panthers outlasting it. A quick 6-0 run for GSU pushed the score back to a six-point spread.
Despite the lead, the Eagles cut the deficit to one three times in the remaining portion of the half with Adante' Holiman scoring eight points in that span. The Panthers held a three-point advantage into the break, holding the Eagles to just a 39 percent mark from the field.
White led the Eagles with 13 points at the break, another great effort down the stretch for a team that needed some life.
The second half started with a sequence of three straight offensive boards for the Eagles, with Nate Brafford nailing the fourth-chance opportunity to tie things back up at 37.
GSU once again stretched its lead back to six with the Eagles having another response to it. A personal 4-0 run by Braylhan Thomas knotted things at 43, and the two teams went shot-for-shot with one another until the under-12. Holiman hit another three to make it a 50-50 game right before the break.
After the Panthers went back in front on a free throw, the Eagles finally overcame the deficit and went ahead. Banks' layup made it 53-52, and Holiman brought the crowd to its feet with a pair of threes, giving the Eagles their largest lead of the night at five.
The Eagles got the lead to six twice, but the Panthers hung around. Banks knocked down his 100th career three to make it 71-65, but an and-one and a three coming back the other way tied it up at 71.
Perhaps the loudest moment in the young history of The Hill occurred on the following possession. As he has done so often all season, Douglas found himself open for a clutch bucket and swished the corner three for his first bucket of the night. The Eagles went up 74-71 and the record crowd of 3,484 went into a frenzy.
White iced the game by making both free throws on the one-and-one, and despite a three at the buzzer for the Panthers, the Eagles snatched the Statesboro half of Southern vs. State by a score of 76-75.
Holiman capped a potential Player of the Year campaign with a 24-point, six-three effort, going 8-13 from the field. It was his 10th 20-point game, and the guard has found a home in this offense.
"I've always known I could shoot the ball, but I feel like this year I've taken my opportunities wisely," Holiman said. "I feel like this year I've showcased to everybody what I can do. It's been fun, but it's not over with yet."
White (18) averaged 17.5 points per game in the crucial pair of games at the end of the season and was joined by Banks (13) in double figures. Tyson Brown had another double-digit rebounding effort, and Douglas filled up other portions of the stat sheet with seven assists and four steals.
The crowd of 3,484 was the largest men's basketball crowd in The Hill history, sealing an average attendance of 2,075 fans - the highest season average for the Eagles since 2008-09.
The Eagles clinched the ninth seed in the conference tournament and will play the winner of Southern Miss/Coastal Carolina on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in Pensacola.
