Georgia State Falls Short In Heartbreaker to South Alabama
Georgia State has lost back-to-back games after falling to South Alabama 69-67 in what would prove to be a failed comeback attempt. The Panthers kept the game close in the first half and only trailed by three heading into halftime, but Georgia State couldn’t keep the pace as the South Alabama offense heated up down the stretch.
The Panthers mounted a comeback attempt in the waning minutes of the game behind the hot hand of guard Malachi Brown. The sophomore has been on a tear after scoring 25-points in his last start and finishing this one with 23-points while being the team’s best shooter from three by going 7-16, his seventh make from three cutting the South Alabama lead to just one point with 18 seconds remaining.
JJ Wheat goes 2-2 at the line, but Malachi Brown walks into a loooong three and it’s money.
Georgia State is up to a season-high 41 three-point attempts, but they’ve made 15 of them (37%)
USA 68, GSU 67, 18 ticks left
— Brady Weiler (@bradymweiler) February 1, 2026
After a bad pass from Malachi Brown led to free throws by the Jaguars, the last possession of the game was put in the hands of Jelani Hamilton. Hamilton had 12-points at this time and had the second-highest amount of attempts from the three-point line, only converting on three shots. The sophomore chucked the ball up from three to push Georgia State ahead but his attempt missed and South Alabama came down with the rebound to solidify their win.
Chaze Harris led the scoring for the Jaguars with 15-points, notching his third straight game with 15-points exactly and leading the team to three straight wins. Harris also collected four rebounds and six assists against the Panthers, one of three players on the team to not record a three-point shot.
South Alabama forward Adam Olson notched the first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and corralling 11 rebounds in the winning effort.
AO Double-double 😤
10 points
11 rebounds #LSF | #BurnTheBoats pic.twitter.com/pYDNM3p0VN— South Alabama Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@SouthAlabamaMBB) February 1, 2026
Despite being able to move the ball around effectively by out-assisting the Jaguars and creating second chance points by out-rebounding them offensively, the Panthers were unable to keep the ball in their possession and their shooting from the field was relatively poor as a team. Georgia State made 35% of shots from the field, opposed to South Alabama, which made 52% of their shots from the field, the Jaguars also stole the ball six times from the Panthers.
South Alabama will ride their three-game win streak up north to Boon, North Carolina in a matchup with App State, only separated by half a game in the standings. Georgia State will lick their wounds after dropping two games on the road and head home for a matchup with Sun Belt Conference leader Troy.
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