ATLANTA, Ga. – Junior guard Trae Goldston scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, including a game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, to lift Georgia State over UNC Wilmington, 69-66, in a Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball matinee Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena.

      The Panthers improved to 8-18 overall and 6-9 in the CAA by completing a sweep of the regular season series with the Seahawks for the first time since 1993. UNCW lost its third straight to fall to 6-21 and 3-12.

      Goldston went 1-for-4 in the first half for two points before catching fire after intermission, connecting on 7-for-13 overall and going 5-for-10 from long distance in the final 20 minutes. Senior guard Leonard Mendez paced the Panthers with 21 points, and junior forward Ousman Krubally added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for GSU.

      Sophomore guard Chad Tomko of UNCW poured in 24 points to lead all scorers in the game. Junior guard Johnny Wolf added 16 for the Seahawks, who shot 34.8 percent from the floor.

      After Tomko drained a long trey from the left wing to knot the score at 66-all with 28 seconds remaining, the Panthers went to Goldston in the waning seconds. The lightening-quick shooting guard from Decatur, Ga., got loose in the right corner and drilled in the game-winner. Tomko managed to launch an off balance three-ball at the buzzer, but the it bounced off the rim, breaking the Seahawks’ hearts on Valentine’s Day.

      Trailing 34-32, GSU began the second half with a flurry to take control early. Goldston scored two quick buckets and added a trey at 16:59 to put the Panthers on top, 39-37. A triple by Mendez from the top of the key pushed the margin to 42-37, and Krubally’s follow 42 seconds later extended the lead to 44-37 with 16:17 left to play.

      Wolf sliced the deficit to 46-43 with a long bomb from the left corner at 12:53, but back-to-back triples by Goldston increased the lead back to 52-44 at 11:07. UNCW rallied, however, with a 10-3 spurt to close to within 55-54 when Wolf followed his own shot along the left baseline. Kevon Moore’s free throw with 4:43 left gave UNCW its final lead of the game, 56-55.

      A layup by Moore with 37 ticks left sliced GSU’s lead to 64-63, but Joe Dukes got loose behind the defense on the inbounds play for a 66-63 edge. That set up Tomko’s game-tying trifecta before Goldston’s heroics.

      UNCW erased an early six-point deficit to grab a 34-32 edge at halftime by converting nine GSU turnovers into 14 points. Wolf and freshman guard Jerel Stephenson each scored eight points in the opening period as the Seahawks led at halftime for only the seventh time this season.

      After Stephenson converted a layup on the right side to give the Seahawks a 13-11 edge at 13:48, Mendez scored eight of GSU’s next 10 points as the Panthers took control midway through the half. Mendez wound up with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting and GSU led 21-16 at the 10-minute mark.

      But the Seahawks answered with a 10-0 run behind five different players to regain the lead, 26-21, when Darryl Felder’s 3-pointer from the right corner staked UNCW to a five-point margin at 5:17. Krubally gave GSU a lift by finishing the half strong, scoring GSU’s final nine points and UNCW managed only a 34-32 edge at the break.

      The Seahawks return to Trask Coliseum to open a three-game homestand Wednesday against Old Dominion at 7 p.m. The Panthers travel to Northeastern Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Matthews Arena in Boston.

      Game Notes: GSU shot 54.2 percent in the first half...GSU went 1-for-7 from 3-point range in the first half and 8-for-15 in the second period...GSU owned a 35-22 advantage on the boards...Only four players scored for the Seahawks in the second half...UNCW matched its season low with eight turnovers...Sophomore forward Dominique Lacy went 1-for-8 from the floor...The Seahawks went 11-for-34 from 3-point range...Both of UNCW’s opponents this week scored 69 points...The game featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes...Sophomore guard Darryl Felder led the Seahawks with six rebounds...Chad Tomko had just one turnover in 39 minutes...UNCW dropped to 1-13 on the road this season...GSU shot 54.0 percent from the floor in the contest, which was televised by Comcast SportsNet.