Harrisonburg, Va.-The Georgia State basketball team escaped the snow and ice in Atlanta but fell at James Madison, 79-67, Thursday at the JMU Convocation Center.
The game was originally scheduled to be played Wednesday but snow and ice in Atlanta delayed the Panthers' travel and postponed the game to Thursday.
Freshman Javonte Maynor led Georgia State (8-7, 3-2 CAA) with 14 points off the bench, and senior Marques Johnson equalled his career scoring high with 12 points, along with five rebounds and four assists. Despite the loss, the Panthers have won four of their last six games.
Five players scored in double figures for James Madison, which won its eighth straight game to improve to 14-3 overall, 4-1 in the CAA, including a perfect 8-0 at home.
"We looked like a team that had missed a few days of practice (due to weather)," said GSU head coach Rod Barnes. "We were not in sync, especially defensively.
"But I thought our kids showed great resilience in continuing to fight back," continued Barnes. "We had an unusual week with the weather, this is a tough place to come into and James Madison is a very good team. We'll be much better Saturday."
James Madison shot 59 percent from the field, the best figure that any opponent has managed this season against Georgia State, which leads the CAA in field goal percentage defense. The Dukes hit 10 of 16 from three-point range. Meanwhile the Panthers, who had shot 50 percent or better in five of its last six games, hit only 36 percent tonight.
After falling behind by as many as 19 points at 55-36 with 8:49 left, GSU used an 11-2 run over the next two minutes to quickly pull within 10 at 57-47 with 6:36 still to play. But Julius Wells answered with a three for JMU, and the Panthers could not get their deficit to single digits until a trey by Maynor brought them within 71-63 with 1:24 left. The Dukes made seven of eight free throws to seal the victory.
Andrey Semenov led JMU with 16 points off the bench, while Humpty Hitchens and Devon Moore added 13 points each. Leading scorer Denzel Bowles managed 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Julius Wells chipped in 11 points.
Georgia State plays the second of three straight road games at George Mason in less than 48 hours with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., that will be regionally televised (CSS in Atlanta).
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