Georgia State uncharacteristically couldn’t defend the 3-pointer on Wednesday night, enabling host Northeastern to win 60-57.
The Huskies made 11 3-pointers, including eight in the first half, to hand the Panthers only their second loss in 15 games. The defeat knocked Georgia State (13-5, 5-2) out of a first-place tie in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Panthers will play at Delaware on Saturday.
GSU was one of the CAA’s better defensive teams, allowing opponents to make only 30.7 percent of their 3-point attempts. But the Northeastern trio of Joel Smith, Jonathan Lee, and forward Quincy Ford — who were the focus of GSU’s scouting report — made all 11 of their team’s 3-point shots and combined for 46 points. The Huskies made more of their 3-pointers than they missed, 11-10. The Panthers had not allowed a team to make at least 10 3-pointers since Florida Atlantic made 15 in the third game of the season.
The lethargy GSU showed in Saturday’s win against Towson wasn’t evident against the Huskies. The Panthers shot well, out-rebounded the Huskies and played their customary tough zone defense, but couldn’t stop Lee and Smith in the first half. The duo led the Huskies to a 35-31 halftime lead by making six of their seven 3-pointers.
The Panthers fought back in the second half, cutting Northeastern’s lead to 58-57 on two free throws by Devonta White with 15 seconds remaining. But with GSU forced to foul, Lee made two free throws to push the Huskies’ lead to 60-57. The Panthers missed a game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left.
