Hempstead, N.Y. - Despite 22 points from senior Joe Dukes, missed free throws doomed the Georgia State men's basketball team in an 87-74 loss to Hofstra at the Mack Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers shot just 51.4 percent from the charity stripe, 45.0 percent in the second half, as 17 missed free throws proved to be the difference in the game.
"Hofstra did a great job on the offensive glass tonight," commented head coach Rod Barnes. "We let them get too comfortable by missing free throws and they were able to spread it out. They did a good job of playing together and it showed as they had a lot of assists. We have to give them credit, but at the same time, I am still disappointed as I think it could have been a closer game."
The loss dropped Georgia State to 12-19 overall, 5-13 in the CAA heading into next weekend's conference championship in Richmond, Va.
Hofstra, the hottest team in the conference and winners of nine of their last 10 games, improved to 18-13, 10-8 in the CAA play.
The Panthers will be the No. 10 seed in next weekend's championship and face No. 7 seed Hofstra Friday at 6 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum.
"We have to get back and get ready for the tournament now," stated Barnes on being the ten-seed.
Dukes, finished 8-of-18 from the field, but missed 5-of-10 free throws. He added five boards, three steals and two assists.
Georgia State led 14-9, just under six minutes into the game, but fouls troubled the Panthers most of the first half.
Barnes was forced to make changes to the line-up after senior Trey Hampton picked up his second first half foul less than eight minutes into the game. A total of five Panthers picked up two fouls prior to the intermission.
Over the next 12 minutes, Hofstra outscored Georgia State 34-15 to take a 43-29 lead with 1:54 to play in the first half before the Panthers used a run of their own to back into the game.
State held Hofstra scoreless over the final 1:54, using a 7-0 run to end the half, spurred by five points from Dukes.
"Joe played really well. He is playing like a senior should be playing this late into the season. We have some other seniors that need to step it up when we get back to get ready for next weekend."
Redshirt-sophomore Jihad Ali's three-pointer at the 16:41 mark of the second half capped Georgia State's 16-3 run and cut the deficit to one, 46-45, but that is as close as the Panthers got in the second half.
Hofstra's Cornelius Vines and Charles Jenkins led the Pride with 11 combined three-pointers and 47 points on senior day for the Pride.
Hofstra shot 44.4 percent from three-point range, including 5-of-9 in the second half.
Halil Kanacevic added 16 points and seven rebounds, shooting 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
The Pride out-rebounded Georgia State, 53-42, including 21 offensive rebounds, which led to 22 second chance points.
Xavier Hansbro added 11 points for State, while freshman James Vincent pulled down nine rebounds in just 11 minutes.
"James is going to be a really good player. We just need to get him more minutes. I don't think we have given him as much playing time as he needs to really contribute. Tonight, he really hit the glass and made some big plays. The future is bright for him."
Although being out-rebounded, Georgia State outscored Hofstra 28-20 in the paint.
