Georgia State Rolls Past Hofstra, 85-50

3/3/2012 3:45:00 AM

RICHMOND, Va. - Eric Buckner and Devonta White combined for 20 points while Georgia State was building a commanding lead during the final 12 minutes of the initial half, and the Panthers went on to beat Hofstra 85-50 in the final game of the opening round of the Virginia 529 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship Friday at the Richmond Coliseum.

Sixth-seeded Georgia State (21-11) advances to an 8:30 p.m. Saturday tournament quarterfinal meeting with third-seeded George Mason, which had a first-round tournament bye. Hofstra, the tournament's 11th-seed, fell to 10-22 with the loss.

After the lead changed hands seven times, Buckner put Georgia State in front to stay 15-13 with a put-back dunk with 11:44 left in the first half. Hofstra still was within 18-15 before the Panthers closed the half with a 28-9 burst over the period's final nine minutes to lead 45-24 at halftime.

Buckner finished the first half with 14 points, including nine after the score was last tied, and White had 11 points during his team's decisive first-half burst. They helped the Panthers shoot 59 percent (16-27) from the field during the first 20 minutes.

Georgia State, who set a tournament record for victory margin and whose 21 wins are the second-most team history, led 73-40 with just less than eight minutes to play and by as many as 37 points during the final minutes.

The Panthers finished the game with a 60 percent (31-52) shooting mark from the field and matched their second-best game scoring effort of the season. They scored 48 points in the paint to Hofstra's 18 and had 23 points off 15 Pride turnovers. Georgia State also had a 35-23 rebounding advantage and got 28 points from its bench to only one point from Hofstra's reserves.

Buckner, an all-conference third-team honoree and league all-defensive selection, finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double effort of the season. He hit on all seven of his shots from the field and on seven of eight free throws and blocked two shots in 23 minutes

James Fields added 14 points and White 13 for the Panthers, who used 14 players during the game, none for as many as 30 minutes.

Hofstra, which shot 35 percent (16-46), got 16 points from second-team all-league honoree Mike Moore, 14 from Stevie Mejia and 11 from Nathaniel Lester.