Harrisonburg, Va.-Joe Dukes scored 13 points and Ousman Krubally had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds as Georgia State opened Colonial Athletic Association play with a 49-44 victory at James Madison Saturday afternoon in snowy Harrisonburg, Va.
Krubally's basket broke a 40-all tied with three minutes to play, and the Panthers (5-4, 1-0 CAA) turned in another strong defensive effort, holding James Madison (4-3, 0-1 CAA) to 34 percent shooting and outrebounding the Dukes, 37-27. The Panthers had a 22-7 advantage on the boards in the second half.
Georgia State led the entire second half until Julius Wells' jumper tied the score with 3:31 to play. On GSU's next possession, Krubally rebounded a missed free throw and laid it in to give the Panthers the lead for good. Then, after Trey Hampton took a charge from Wells, Marques Johnson hit a jumper to put Georgia State ahead, 44-40, with 2:18 left.
The Panthers hit five out of six free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
"I'm so proud of our team for fighting through a tough game and closing out a huge win on the road," said Georgia State head coach Rod Barnes. "It was a great team effort, especially on defense. We had a lot of different guys step up, and our depth was definitely a factor because we had to overcome foul trouble."
Dukes was just 3-for-15 from the field but contributed six rebounds, four assists and two steals to go along with his 13 points. Krubally's double-double was his third of the season.
Marques Johnson made his first start in a Georgia State uniform as the Panthers went with a three-guard lineup, and he contributed four points, three assists and three steals in 37 minutes.
Kevin Lott scored just four points, but two of them were a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left and the Panthers clinging to a two-point lead, and the senior from Atlanta did excellent work defensively on Wells, JMU's top player.
Xavier Hansbro added eight points and four rebounds in just 14 minutes due to foul trouble.
"Any win on the road is huge, but as the season goes on, I think this is going to be a really great win because James Madison is an excellent team," said Barnes.
"We knew we had to take away their threes and make them put the ball on the floor, and our kids did a great job getting out on their shooters. We know we've got to live by our defense. Kevin Lott, in particular, did a wonderful job defensively."
James Madison's 44-point effort equals the second-lowest point total against Georgia State by a CAA opponent and third-lowest by any Panther opponent.
James Madison quickly jumped to an 8-0 lead in the game before the Panthers settled down. After allowing the Dukes eight points in the first three minutes, Georgia State held them scoreless for the next six-and-a-half minutes en route to a 20-16 lead at the intermission.
Dazzmond Thornton led James Madison with 16 points, and Wells, last year's CAA Rookie of the Year, added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Georgia State takes next week off for final exams before travelling to Florida A&M Dec. 13.
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