Game Slips Away in Overtime in 83-80 Defeat

Tuesday, December 3

Atlanta, Ga.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-3,0-0Ivy League

Georgia State

5-3,0-0Sun Belt

OT 1

Dartmouth

Georgia St.

Chris Knight dunks in the win over Thomas College, Nov. 19, 2019

Chris Knight had a season-high 23 points.

Photo by: Brian Foley

12/3/2019 9:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Chris Knight filled the stat sheet and James Foye led the Green with 25 points

By: Rick Bender

ATLANTA, Ga. — Corey Allen tied the game with 1.9 seconds left in regulation and added his eighth 3-pointer of the night in overtime as Georgia State barely held off visiting Dartmouth on Tuesday night at the GSU Sports Arena, 83-80. Allen led all players with 28 points to lead the Panthers (5-3) to their fourth consecutive victory and second straight in overtime.

Dartmouth (5-3) had two top 20 points in senior James Foye (25, tying a career high) and junior Chris Knight (23), but the duo could not stave off the Big Green's second straight loss in the second of five straight road games.

In a back-and-forth affair in which featured 14 lead changes and 11 ties with neither side leading by double digits all night, the Big Green found themselves trailing by eight when Kane Williams, who had 16 points for GSU, ripped a 3-pointer with 11:28 to play. But they rattled off a 12-2 run, capped by an Aaryn Rai layup with 5:05 remaining for a 57-55 lead.

Allen and sophomore Taurus Samuels traded triples before Foye sank two free throws for a four-point Dartmouth advantage, but Allen answered with another long ball before Jalen Thomas stole a rebound away from the Green and laid it in, putting Georgia State back on top, 63-62.

Knight and Williams then traded driving layups before Foye hit a long trifecta right in front of head coach David McLaughlin to put Dartmouth up two, 67-65, with just under a minute to go.

Thomas tied the score with a layup, but the 6-0 Samuels drove to the rim and hit a layup,, high and soft off the glass, for a 69-67 edge with 13.3 ticks left. Allen, who was 10-of-20 on the night and 8-of-15 from distance, hit a tough shot under pressure on the baseline with a foot on the line to tie the game and 1.9 on the clock, though the scoreboard put three points on the board. When Foye launched a half-court shot that only hit the backboard, it set off a frenzy on the court with Panther players and fans celebrating what they thought was a 70-69 victory.

Once order was restored and overtime began, Dartmouth took a three-point lead on an Ian Sistare trey, but again Allen had the answer with his eighth long ball. Rai put the Big Green back on top by hitting the first of two free throws, and after Joe Jones III hit 3-of-4 at the line on consecutive possessions for the Panthers, Knight drove for a layup and his final points of the night, tying the game at 77 with 1:18 to go.

Williams scored down low to reclaim the lead for GSU, and Foye had a chance to tie the game with a one-and-one opportunity, but his first attempt caught back iron and was rebounded by the Panthers. Williams sank two free throws, but Foye gave Dartmouth a chance with his last three with 13.3 seconds left, closing the gap to one at 81-80. But Georgia State avoided the trap defense and broke out for a dunk with 7.4 seconds showing, leaving time for the Big Green to get off one last game-tying shot. But Rai's 3-point attempt at the buzzer only caught the front of the iron.

Dartmouth jumped out to an early 10-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game thanks to 3-pointers by Samuels and Foye with Knight mixing in a layup and a pair of free throws. The Big Green were able to keep GSU at arm's length until Justin Roberts and Corey Allen hit from downtown, and another trey from Nelson Phillips put the Panthers on top, 22-21, with just under six minutes left in the half.

In the final three minutes, Dartmouth answered with consecutive triples from Knight and Foye before the latter added two foul shots for an 8-0 run and a 32-26 lead. But Allen scored the final five points of the period with a 3-ball and a layup just before the buzzer to keep GSU within one at the break, 32-31.

Allen picked up in the second half where he left off, hitting a triple right off the bat, and the Panthers would not trail again until the Big Green's 12-2 run that ended with five minutes to play.

Both teams hit 12 3-pointers on the night, but the Panthers attempted 14 more field goals thanks to 14 offensive rebounds, shooting 44.3 percent (31-of-70) compared to Dartmouth's 51.8 percent (29-of-56). The foul line was more kind to the hosts at 9-of-13 (.692) while the Big Green converted just 10-of-17 (.588).

Knight stuffed the stat sheet, hitting 9-of-11 from the floor with a 3-pointer, plus led Dartmouth with nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Foye finished the game 7-of-12 overall with only one attempt inside the arc and 4-of-5 at the line for his 25 points while hauling in five boards and dishing out four helpers.

The Big Green next play at South Florida on Friday night at 8 p.m. in a game that will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Notes: Foye also had seven 3-pointers and 25 points in a game at Brown last year, which also came in a three-point defeat … Dartmouth has knocked down at least 10 3-pointers in each of its last four contests, shooting 43.4 percent (49-of-113) in those games … the longest streak of 10 or more treys is six games set in February of 2002 … this was Knight's ninth career 20-point game, and the fourth for Foye.