ATLANTA-For the second time in three games and the fourth time this season, Georgia State fell on a last-second shot as Old Dominion's Frank Hassell put back a missed shot with 6.6 seconds and the Monarchs escaped with a 51-48 victory Wednesday at the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers led 48-47 when Hassell grabbed a miss by Darius James, put it in and was fouled. He completed a three-point play, and ODU added another free throw after a GSU turnover for the final margin.
GSU dropped its sixth straight to fall to 8-12 and 3-7 CAA. Brandon McGee led the Panthers with 14 points.
"We had opportunities tonight, but unfortunately we turned the ball over one too many times," commented head coach Rod Barnes. "They are a good rebounding team and we missed one at the end that might have been able to seal the game for us."
Hassell finished with 15 points to lead Old Dominion, which improved to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in conference.
"I thought we showed a lot of resilience and our guys played with great effort. I thought our entire team played hard, but it is unfortunate that we are not able to make that last play to win it."
Georgia State took a 48-44 lead on Dante Curry's three-pointer with 4:07 to play, but that was the last basket for the Panthers. Still, GSU allowed ODU only three free throws over the next four minutes and needed just one last defensive stand.
James drove the lane with less than 10 seconds left and missed a pull-up jumper. But Old Dominion ranks second in the nation in rebounding, and Hassell came up with the offensive rebound on the baseline and scored the bucket.
Georgia State held the Monarchs to just 36 percent shooting from the field, including 2-for-14 from three-point range, but ODU went 17-for-23 at the line, while the Panthers shot just eight free throws, making six.
The Panthers had the advantage early, leading by as many as 10 points midway through the first half. GSU was ahead 21-16 with four minutes until halftime, but ODU closed the half with a 6-2 run to take 24-23 lead into the locker room.
A three-pointer by Javonte Maynor put the Panthers ahead, 28-27, with 16:54 left, and the GSU held the lead until the closing seconds.
Maynor scored 11 points off the bench, and Curry added 10.
Georgia State will return to the road to face Northeastern on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game can be heard live on WRAS-FM 88.5 beginning 30 minutes prior to tip.
The Panthers will return home to face UNC Wilmington on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets for that game, as well as the Panthers remaining home games can be bought by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or by going online to GeorgiaStateSports.com.
--30--
