Georgia State fell at Florida State, 62-55, Tuesday at the Tucker Center. Joe Dukes scored 22 points for the Panthers (5-6), who rallied from 17 points down in the second half against the much taller Seminoles to pull within four points in the final two minutes.Solomon Alabi led Florida State (8-2) with a career-high 22 points as the 7-1 center went 8-for-9 from the field and 6-for-8 at the line.
“You’re always disappointed with a loss, but I’m proud of our kids for the effort they gave,” said GSU head coach Rod Barnes. “Florida State may be the tallest, most long and athletic team I’ve ever coached against. Early in the game, we were a little overwhelmed by their size and athletic ability, but then we settled down.
“In the second half we stepped up our defensive intensity and got some turnovers. We hit a couple of shots that enabled us to crawl back into the game. We had some opportunities to close the gap even more, but we missed some good looks.”
Florida State led just 30-24 at the half, but the Seminoles scored the first eight points of the second half to build a 14-point advantage.
FSU led 52-35 with just under 10 minutes to play when the Panthers began to chip away behind Dukes, who scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half. The 6-1 guard hit a short jumper and a driving layup and then sank two free throws that pulled GSU within 52-41.
After the Seminoles pushed their lead back to 12 at 57-45 with four minutes to go, Duke and James Fields hit three-pointers, and then Ousman Krubally’s layup made the score 59-53 with 2:43 to play.
The Panthers forced a turnover, and Trae Goldston’s jumper pulled GSU within 59-55 with 1:42 on the clock. After another FSU turnover, one of 19 forced by the Panthers, Goldston missed a jump shot with 32 seconds left, and Derwin Kitchen made two free throws to seal the win for FSU.
Dukes hit a career-high four three-pointers in the game and also contributed six rebounds and two steals. Fields added nine points and three steals, and freshman center James Vincent saw his most significant playing time with four points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
The Panthers shot just 32 percent from the field against a Florida State squad that starts players who are 7-1, 6-11 and 6-9 across its front line. FSU blocked seven shots and altered many others, and the Seminoles outrebounded Georgia State, 38-30.
Georgia State concludes its season-opening stretch of nine of its first 11 games away from home, and now the Panthers look forward to four straight home games, beginning Saturday against Eastern Michigan in a 4 p.m. contest at the GSU Sports Arena.
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