GAME HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY

STATESBORO, Ga. – Mike Hughes posted 15 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots as Georgia Southern remained atop the Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings with a 58-54 win over Georgia State before a sellout crowd of 4,325 Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
Hughes hit a pair of free throws to put Georgia Southern ahead 53-49 with 1:26 to play. The Eagles got a defensive stop, and then pulled down two offensive rebounds on their next trip down the floor to maintain possession. The last came on a held ball after a scrum of players diving all over the floor, and when the whistle blew with 28 seconds left, the possession arrow pointed in favor of Georgia Southern.
 
Georgia State was forced to foul Jelani Hewitt, and the senior made it a six-point lead. The Eagles got another stop and Hewitt went 1-of-2 from the stripe for a 56-49 cushion with 20 seconds to go. The Panthers had one last gasp at it when Kevin Ware hit a triple to make the score 57-54 with three seconds to play. Hewitt was fouled with 1.8 on the clock and made 1-of-2 from the line to seal the win.
 
Hewitt finished with 13 points, a game-high nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Trent Wiedeman contributed eight points, five rebounds and two blocked shots for the Eagles (16-4, 9-2).
 
Ryan Harrow tallied 17 points and four assists to pace Georgia State (15-8, 8-4), while Markus Crider added 14 points and seven rebounds. R.J. Hunter contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Georgia Southern, which trailed by six points at halftime, rallied from a 39-30 deficit midway through the second half. Curtis Diamond, Hewitt and Hughes all hit 3-pointers in a 13-4 Eagle run, and a pair of Wiedeman free throws gave the Eagles a 43-41 lead with 6:26 to play. It was their first lead since early in the first half.
 
A Jake Allsmiller 3-pointer from the corner extended the cushion to 49-44 with 3:47 left. The teams traded buckets before Hunter hit a triple from the wing to pull the Panthers to within two points with 1:45 to go. But Hunter fouled Hughes trying to go for a steal on the Eagles' next trip down the floor.
 
Georgia Southern shot 29 percent from the floor but outscored Georgia State 19-5 at the free-throw line and used 15 offensive rebounds to net 14 second-chance points. The Panthers built a 25-19 halftime lead by holding the Eagles to 7-of-26 from the floor in the first frame.
 
The Eagles return to action Saturday when they play host to ULM at 7:30 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. It's Pack the House in Pink, an event designed to raise awareness for breast cancer and aid in the fight against the disease.
 
All-session ticket books to this year's Sun Belt Basketball Championships March 11-15, in New Orleans are available for $99 at the Georgia Southern Ticket Office. Call 1-800-GSU-WINS!
 
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com