ATLANTA -- Jeff Thomas scored a career-high 27 points and Georgia State defeated UT Arlington 77-71 on Saturday.

Thomas connected on 11 of 15 shots, including 5 of 6 3-pointers and the Panthers (15-6, 6-2 Sun Belt) bounced back from their only home loss of the season, an 81-68 setback against league-leading Texas State on Thursday.

Kane Williams had 16 points and five assists, Jordan Tyson added 11 points and Devin Mitchell scored 10 points for the Panthers.

Edric Dennis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for UTA (9-12, 5-3). Brian Warren led the Mavericks with 19 points.

Georgia State led 32-29 at halftime before UT Arlington scored the first five points of the second half to take the lead. There were two more lead changes and three ties before the Panthers took the lead for good at 52-49 on a 3-pointer by Mitchell near the midway point of the second half.

The Mavericks (9-12, 5-3) kept it close for several minutes before falling behind 72-63 with 2:17 to go. Two 3-pointers by Warren helped the Mavericks cut the deficit and they were down 75-71 with 20 seconds remaining. Thomas then scored inside for the Panthers and UTA missed a couple of shots in the paint as the game ended.