BOSTON (Jan. 10, 2007) - Georgia State saw host Northeastern stage a second-half rally to post the 84-69 win in a Colonial Athletic Association game in Matthews Arena.

Georgia State's strong first half and 61 percent shooting gave them a 45-31 lead at the break. But, the host Huskies seemingly could not miss in the second half as they made 9-of-their-first 12 shots, including four three-pointers, to go on a 25-5 spurt and gain a 56-50 advantage with 11:35 to go.

Georgia State regrouped to close back to 58-56 with 8:40 to play after a three-point basket by Leonard Mendez. With a 61-58 lead, Northeastern's Bobby Kelly hit another three to spark a 68-58 NU lead. State closed back to 70-64 at 4:26 on a trey by Rashad Chase. But, a technical foul helped NU get four free throws to open a 74-64 lead again at 4:07 and move on to the win. Northeastern has won 12 of its past 13 home games.

  Georgia State (5-10, 1-4) got 23 points from Lance Perique and a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds from Rashad Chase. Leonard Mendez also added 13 points. State made 10-of-its first 12 three-point shots before missing its final four late trey attempts.  

State finished with a solid 49 percent (24-49) for the game and Northeastern finished at 51 percent (29-of-57). Each team had 10 three-point baskets.

Northeastern (4-12,2-3) got 22 points from Bobby Kelly, 21 points from Bennet Davis, 16 points from Adrian Martinez and 10 from Matt Janning.

The game started with host Northeastern scoring the first five points in the first minute. Leonard Mendez started State off with a three-pointer at 18:55 and Ron Larris followed with another a minute later. When Mendez got an offensive rebound and scored, Georgia State got the lead at 8-7 at 17:00 and would not relinquish it. A lay-up by Perique finished a 14-2 State run since the 5-0 Northeastern start to put State ahead 14-7 at 14:45.

With State up 21-14, the Huskies worked up a 9-3 run to close to 24-23 at 8:19. A quick trey by Perique stopped that rally. At the 4:00 mark, State led 33-28 when it began its key run of the game. That was a 12-0 burst that included a trey by McBride, two FT by Perique, a trey by Mendez, and two baskets by Perique to make it a 17-point lead at 45-28 with 47 seconds left. A final three-pointer by Northeastern's Kelly made it 45-31 at the halftime break. Georgia State shot 61.5 percent in the first half with 16-of-26, including 7-of-8 outside the three-point line by five different scorers.

State returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. at UNC Wilmington.