After trailing 45-32 at halftime, Georgia State outscored the Owls 45-39 in the second half but couldn't get enough stops defensively to erase the deficit. Defense comes at a premium for the Panthers who allowed Florida Atlantic to shoot a blistering 55 percent from the field including 15-25 from beyond the arc in the game.
Eric Buckner was really good for Georgia State connecting on 12 of 18 attempts for a game-high 24 points. Buckner also finished with three rebounds, three steals and three blocks for the Panthers. Jihad Ali and tony Kimbro Jr. each tossed in 14 and 12 points respectively. Josh Micheaux came off the bench to score 11 points and hand out six assists.
Florida Atlantic had four players with double figures scoring led by Greg Gantt's 17. Omari Grier chipped in 15 off the bench while Alex Tucker and Kore White finished with 12 and 10. Tucker also recorded a game-high 10 assists for the Owls who finished with 19 as a team.
The Panthers will open the home part of their schedule on Friday against McNeese State.