| Senior Keith Spencer recorded his eighth career double-double on Saturday night. |
ATLANTA, Ga. ? Senior Keith Spencer posted his eighth career double-double and freshman Devin Gibson turned in 14 points and seven assists, but Leonard Mendez poured in 22, including the game-tying basket to force overtime, to lead Georgia State to a 76-71 win over UTSA on Saturday night at Georgia State Sports Arena.
With the game tied at 66 and under 20 seconds to play, junior Travis Gabbidon found Spencer alone on the baseline on a set play out of a timeout for a dunk that put UTSA up two with 12 ticks left.
Following a Georgia State (3-6) timeout, Mendez pulled up just outside the free throw line and drained a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to knot the score at 68. UTSA’s ensuing inbounds pass went out of bounds untouched, which gave the Panthers the ball under their own basket with half a second remaining. Kevin Lott was alone for an easy layup on the inbounds play but misfired to send the game to overtime.
In the extra frame, Mendez struck again to give GSU a 70-68 lead, but Gabbidon responded with a long 3-pointer to give the Roadrunners (4-4) their first and only lead of the overtime period.
Mendez (4-4) and Goldston (2-2) combined for a perfect performance from the free throw line down the stretch and the Panthers defense held the Roadrunners scoreless the rest of the way as GSU held on for the five-point win.
Spencer scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, while Gabbidon joined Gibson and Spencer in double figures with 11 points, 10 of which came after halftime. UTSA shot 52.8 percent (28-53) from the floor, including six 3-pointers, in a game that saw nine ties and six lead changes.
The Panthers were 29-of-55 (52.7%) from the field, including seven treys, and 11-of-13 (84.6%) from the free throw line. Mendez led all players with 22 points, while Goldston and Dickerson contributed 18 and 10, respectively. Dickerson and Rashad Chase grabbed seven boards apiece.
UTSA found itself down 9-0 to start the game and by as many as 11 midway through the first half. Junior Joey Shank drained two treys during a 14-3 run that tied the game at 22. The Roadrunners took their first lead of the game on Gibson layup in the final minute of the first half.
The UTSA run continued in the second half as a pair of Spencer layups and a Gibson runner gave the Roadrunners their largest lead of the game at 51-40 with 14:06 left.
The Panthers answered with a 12-1 run capped by a Goldston jumper at the 9-minute mark to knot the score at 52. UTSA built its lead back to five points with just over two minutes remaining, but a Dickerson layup and a Goldston trey tied the game at 64-all with 1:14 to play. A Gabbidon layup and a pair of Mendez freebies set up the final plays.
The Roadrunners return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 19, when they host Texas Wesleyan at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.