ATLANTA-Georgia State fell to Northeastern, 66-54, in a Colonial Athletic Association game Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena. Joe Dukes scored 15 points, but the Panthers (8-9, 2-3 CAA) dropped their third straight game.
Matt Janning scored 23 points to lead the Huskies (9-7, 4-1 CAA), who won their seventh straight game to maintain a share first place in the CAA standings.
Leading 24-22 at the intermission, Northeastern opened the second half with a 15-3 run to seize control with a 40-25 advantage. The Huskies shot 60 percent from the field in the second half.
"I'm disappointed that we're not playing the type of basketball we capable of," said GSU head coach Rod Barnes. "We got off to a slow start again and put ourselves in too big of a hole. We can't do that and expect to beat teams in this league, especially a really good team like Northeastern that is on a roll right now.
"We've got to go back to work and see what we can do to get ourselves off to a better start."
Dukes, the senior guard from Cuthbert, Ga., had five rebounds and three steals to go along with his 15 points. Xavier Hansbro added 13 points and five boards, but Trae Goldston, GSU's second-leading scorer, managed just three points on 1-for-5 shooting.
"We've got to work harder to get Trae Goldston more open looks, but if we play harder on defense, we move better on offense," said Barnes. "And when we get to the basket, we've got to finish."
Northeastern opened the game by making its first five shots to jump to a 14-3 lead. From there, the Panthers outscored NU 19-10 to pull within two at the half.
The Huskies' backcourt combined for 36 points. Janning, the all-CAA guard, went 8-for-15 from the field with two treys, while point guard Chiasson Allen contributed 13 points with three triples and six assists. Nkem Ojougboh pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, along with eight points and two blocks for NU.
Georgia State's next game is Wednesday at George Mason (7 p.m.), while the Panthers' next home date is Jan. 16, when VCU visits the GSU Sports Arena for a 6 p.m. contest.
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