Georgia State defeats Louisiana for Sun Belt's automatic bid

Updated Mar. 7, 2022 9:52 p.m. ET

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Corey Allen scored 29 points and third-seeded Georgia State won the Sun Belt Conference tournament for the fourth time in eight years, defeating Louisiana 80-71 on Monday night.

Eliel Nsoseme had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Georgia State. Jalen Thomas scored 12 points and Kane Williams added 10. The third-seeded Panthers have won 10 straight games and 12 of their last 13.

After Georgia State saw a comfortable lead cut to three at 55-52 with 7:28 remaining, Nsoseme converted a three-point play, Allen made two free throws followed by a 3-pointer and the Panthers were well on their way to an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Louisiana sent Georgia State to the free-throw line on seven consecutive possessions beginning at the 2:15 mark and the Panthers made the last 12 of 13 attempts in that stretch. The Panthers made 22 of 24 free throws for the game.

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Jordan Brown had 24 points and eight rebounds for eighth-seeded Louisiana. Greg Williams Jr. scored 15 points and Jalen Dalcourt 10. The Ragin’ Cajuns defeated No. 9 UT Arlington, No. 1 Texas State and No. 4 Troy to reach the championship game. Louisiana is the first team seeded eighth or worse to reach the Sun Belt tournament championship game.

Georgia State built a 21-12 lead with 11:48 remaining in the first half and led by 7-11 points for nearly all of the next 22 minutes of play. Georgia State led 42-33 at halftime and while neither team managed to shoot as much as 35% in the first 12 minutes of the second half, Louisiana went on a 6-0 run to draw within three before Georgia State pulled away.

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