ATLANTA (AP) — Justin Roberts scored 26 points, Corey Allen added 22 points, and Georgia State beat Georgia Tech 123-120 in the season opener for both teams in four overtimes on Wednesday night.
The game devolved into a free-throw shooting contest as the overtimes ticked by. Roberts helped seal it with two free throws at the 30.3-second mark of the fourth overtime, making it 121-118. Michael Devoe followed with a layup for Georgia Tech before Allen hit a free throw, Jose Alvarado missed a layup for Georgia Tech and Jojo Toppin added a free throw to end the scoring.
Bubba Parham’s heave from just beyond half court hit high off the backboard for Georgia Tech as the final buzzer sounded.
Moses Wright finished with 31 points and 20 rebounds and Alvarado had 29 points in the first four-overtime game in Georgia Tech history.
Georgia State won its first game over an Atlantic Coast Conference school in 27 tries. Eliel Nsoseme had 22 points and Kane Williams added 21 for the Panthers.
Georgia State matched its biggest lead of the game when Corey Allen’s driving layup put the Panthers up 55-44 at the 14:33 mark. Wright gave the Jackets their first lead since 15-13 with a pair of free throws that made it 72-70 with 4:34 left.
Both teams had a chance to win it in regulation, but Georgia State’s Justin Roberts lost the ball for a turnover with 18 seconds to go and Devoe missed a pullup jumper in the lane with four seconds remaining.
After an uneventful first overtime, the Panthers took a four-point lead on two free throws by Roberts with 1:05 to go. Devoe followed with an inside basket to trim the lead to 96-94, and Georgia State committed a turnover.
Alvarado hit a pair of throws to make it 96-all with 7.6 seconds remaining, and Roberts missed a straightaway 3 as the final seconds ticked off the second overtime.
The third overtime ended with Alvarado hitting one of two free throws to make it 110-108, and Collin Moore hitting a pair for Georgia State to send it to a fourth OT.
In regulation, Ryan Boyce’s dunk gave the Panthers their first lead at 17-15 at the 10:07 mark. Collin Moore’s fastbreak layup ended a 17-0 run to give the Panthers their first double-digit lead at 26-15.
Georgia Tech finished 339th in the nation with an average of 16.4 turnovers last season. The Jackets had 11 at halftime and finished the game with 22.
Georgia State outscored Georgia Tech 64-50 in points in the paint.
Georgia State went 19-13 last year and finished fifth in the Sun Belt, while Georgia Tech ended up 17-14 and finished fifth in the ACC.
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