What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State lost at home for just the fifth time since the start of the 2013-14 season with a 74-65 loss to UMass on Wednesday afternoon.
* The Panthers finished non-conference play with seven wins, tied for the third-most in program history.
* Senior Jeremy Hollowell led the Panthers with 16 points, while senior Willie Clayton just missed a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds.
ATLANTA-With four players and a head coach battling flu-like symptoms, Georgia State fell to UMass 74-65 at the GSU Sports Arena on Wednesday afternoon. It marked just the fifth time the Panthers have lost at home since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Georgia State (7-5) was led by senior Jeremy Hollowell who scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds, while sophomore Malik Benlevi added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Senior Willie Clayton just missed his third double-double of the season with eight points and 12 rebounds.
UMass (10-3) held the Panthers under 40 percent shooting while five Minutemen scored in double figures, led by DeJon Jarreau who scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Rashaan Holloway just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
“Give UMass all the credit as they turned us over and kept us from scoring the ball in transition,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “We had a few guys who we probably should not have played today because they were battling the flu, but they fought and gave us everything they had. With that said, UMass played well and they deserved the win.”
UMass took an early 10-7 lead before Georgia State responded with a 10-0 run to lead 17-10 with 10:24 remaining in the first half. The Panthers held the Minutemen scoreless for nearly six minutes.
UMass responded with an 18-0 run, holding the Panthers without a field goal for more than 8:30 to lead 28-17 with 5:08 to play.
Georgia State responded with a 7-0 run to cut UMass' lead to 28-24 with 2:30 left, before the Minutemen came right back with an 8-0 run. UMass went into the locker room leading 36-27.
UMass controlled the pace for most of the second half, leading by double digits for most of the first seven minutes before Hollowell scored five-straight GSU points to cut the deficit to 48-43 with 11:35 remaining.
Trailing 65-51 with 4:51 to play, Georgia State made one last push, going on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 65-59 with 2:43 to play, but UMass would not allow the Panthers to get any closer in the final minutes.
Senior Isaiah Dennis earned his second-straight start and finished with nine points, five rebounds and five assists, while sophomore Jeff Thomas added five points and five rebounds off the bench.
Donte Clark and Luwane Pipkins each added 12 points for UMass, while C.J. Anderson scored 10 off the bench.
The Panthers shot an uncharacteristic 38.7 percent from the floor and just 11-of-21 from the free throw line, however did forced 18 UMass turnovers which led to 19 points.
Georgia State will open Sun Belt play traveling to Statesboro to face in-state rival Georgia Southern on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., looking to win the program's third conference title in the last four years.
