Pride off target, loses to Georgia St.

Hofstra was deadly accurate on one count Saturday. It was right on target in analyzing where it stands against a deep, talented team such as Georgia State. As Hofstra coach Mo Cassara said, "To beat a good team, we have to be great right now."

And one thing that the Pride was not Saturday was great, particularly on offense. Maybe "great" is the word that best described Georgia State's hectoring zone defense against the home team. The bottom line was that Hofstra could not connect enough to avoid a 59-43 loss.

In fact, in retrospect, it was ironic that the day began with a ceremony to honor the prolific scoring of Nathaniel Lester, who reached the 1,000-point mark in the previous game. Points were hard to come by this time for Hofstra. Having shot 17-for-58 from the floor, 3-for-22 from three-point range and 6-for-12 from the foul line, the Pride (8-17, 2-11 Colonial Athletic Association) left with something else to shoot for:

"Just don't lose confidence in what we're doing. Keep fighting," said Lester, who had 14 points but shot only 6-for-17.

Georgia State's mix of 1-3-1 and matchup zone, full-court pressure and interior defense by 6-10 Eric Buckner (six blocks) held Mike Moore scoreless until 33 seconds remained in the first half. Moore, who shot 5-for-14, had 13 points, well below the conference-leading average of 19.6 he carried into the game.

"The CAA is a tough league to play in," he said, perusing the boxscore, "but I look at these stats and nothing really stands out. We played them pretty even: assists, steals, turnovers. The only thing is the point category. We're not scoring."

Hofstra does not have the top-to-bottom strength of Georgia State (16-8, 8-5), which had four scorers in double figures and has improved under new coach Ron Hunter, who led Indiana-Purdue at Indianapolis (IUPUI) to a win at Hofstra in the 2010 CBI postseason tournament. Hunter is known for coaching in his bare feet once a year to promote the Samaritan's Feet charity.

The visiting coach had his shoes on Saturday, and his defense had Hofstra on its heels. The Pride, down 15 at the half, did make a late run, and had a chance to cut the lead to five with 61/2 minutes left. But a missed layup and three-pointer by Stevie Mejia (who had done a good job running the Pride in the second half) were converted into a three-pointer by Rashaad Richardson and a fast-break layup by Josh Micheaux. The margin was 12 and the game was basically over.

"It's kind of been the story of our season," Cassara said. "It becomes a fine line. One or two possessions here or there really dictates what happens to us." The coach added that it reminded him and his players that they can't settle for just "good" preparation. They need "great" practice sessions.

The seniors know there still is time. "We're always counting down the days, the number of practices and the number of games [left]," Lester said.

Moore said: "It's coming to a close, and personally, I want to go out winning."