Simonds leads Georgia St. to 8th straight win, 77-66

Feb 2, 2018, 04:58 am

JONESBORO, Ark. -- D'Marcus Simonds had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists as Georgia State got past Arkansas State 77-66 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

The win streak matches the third-longest in Georgia State history.

Malik Benlevi added 13 points with 10 rebounds and Jeff Thomas chipped in another 13 points as Georgia State (17-6, 8-2) remained in second place behind Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference standings.

The Panthers shot 56 percent (29-52) from the floor while limiting Arkansas State to 22-of-61 shooting (36 percent).

The Red Wolves led for most of the first half before Georgia State rallied to go ahead 32-29 at the break. Benlevi opened the second period with a 3-pointer and followed with a layup to for a 37-34 advantage.

Arkansas State regained the lead 50-48 at the 10:49 mark. Benlevi drilled another 3 to retake the lead 53-50. The Panthers pushed their advantage to 66-55 with 6:28 left.

Deven Simms had 28 points to lead Arkansas State (8-15, 3-7).