Liberty edges Georgia State 77-74 in overtime
Liberty wins on off-balanced buzzer-beater
With the game tied in the final seconds of overtime, Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz hits the game-winning shot around a defender to give Liberty a 77-74 win over Georgia State.
ATLANTA -- Scottie James scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz sank the winning 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer to lift Liberty to a 77-74 win over Georgia State in overtime Monday night.
Trailing 74-71 with under a minute to play in the extra period, Liberty (6-3) tied it up with Pacheco-Ortiz's first 3-pointer of the night and then got a key defensive rebound with 27 seconds left after Georgia State's Malik Benlevi missed a 3 at the other end. Pacheco-Ortiz ran down the clock from deep above the key, dribbled to the right, stutter-stepping to shake off the coverage and then fired the winning buzzer-beater from outside the arc.
Lovell Cabbil added 16 points, Ryan Kemrite had 15 and both got five 3-pointers for Liberty, which had lost by a point in triple-overtime Saturday against UNC Greensboro. The Flames finished 14 for 26 (54 percent) from long range Monday.
Georgia State (5-3) was led by D'Marcus Simonds, who got a career-high 35 points, including a layup at the end of regulation to force overtime. Benlevi had 13 points and Devin Mitchell 12 for the Panthers, who shot 51 percent from the field.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Glenn Tuitt
- Jose Carrion
- Michael Husted
2023-24 Conference USA Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Sam Houston | 13-3 | - | 21-12 |
Louisiana Tech | 12-4 | 1 | 22-10 |
Western Kentucky | 8-8 | 5 | 22-12 |
Liberty | 7-9 | 6 | 18-14 |
UTEP | 7-9 | 6 | 18-16 |
Middle Tennessee | 7-9 | 6 | 14-19 |
New Mexico State | 7-9 | 6 | 13-19 |
Jacksonville State | 6-10 | 7 | 14-18 |
Florida International | 5-11 | 8 | 11-22 |
2023-24 Sun Belt Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Appalachian State | 16-2 | - | 27-7 |
James Madison | 15-3 | 1 | 32-4 |
Troy | 13-5 | 3 | 20-12 |
Arkansas State | 11-7 | 5 | 20-17 |
Louisiana | 10-8 | 6 | 19-14 |
Southern Miss | 9-9 | 7 | 16-16 |
South Alabama | 8-10 | 8 | 16-16 |
Georgia State | 8-10 | 8 | 14-17 |
Georgia Southern | 8-10 | 8 | 9-24 |
Texas State | 7-11 | 9 | 17-18 |
Marshall | 7-11 | 9 | 13-20 |
UL Monroe | 6-12 | 10 | 11-19 |
Coastal Carolina | 5-13 | 11 | 9-22 |
Old Dominion | 3-15 | 13 | 7-25 |