Five halftime thoughts: Georgia State

1.) Well, so much for grinding it out. The Flying Dutchmen are red-hot from outside and in fact have hit more 3-pointers (8-of-12) than 2-pointers (6-of-16). Brad Kelleher and Yves Jules each have two 3-pointers, which means we win! Go home people! Kelleher, Jules and Charles Jenkins are all 2-for-2 while Mike Moore is 2-for-4. The only long-distance shooter having a tough time is Shemiye McLendon, who is 0-for-2 from beyond the arc and 0-for-4 overall.

2.) Very impressive balance thus far for the Dutchmen with five players scoring at least six points and eight players playing at least seven minutes. Jenkins leads the way with 10 points and seems to be back in Wolf mode: Not only is he 3-of-4 from the field, but he’s also drawn at least three fouls by creating contact just inside the perimeter.

3.) Brad Kelleher is having a second straight outstanding game with six points, five assists and just one turnover. Jules, too, has been really impressive and hit the two 3-pointers that bookended five straight points by Georgia State and kept the Panthers from getting closer than six. He seems to be in the midst of the sophomore surge that Nathaniel Lester and Greg Washington each enjoyed in February two years ago (hmm I smell a story idea).

4.) The Dutchmen might be on the verge of finally producing that lopsided CAA victory that has eluded them all season, but they won’t get it without tightening up on the boards. Georgia State is outrebounding the Dutchmen 20-12 and have already pulled down nine offensive rebounds. The Panthers are the type of team that gets more dangerous the longer it hangs around and the Dutchmen need to keep those second chances to a minimum to get out of Atlanta with the comfortable victory.

5.) Kind of the same thing, but it’s been a long day so forgive me: The Dutchmen need to keep the Panthers at arm’s length. The last time they didn’t have to sweat out a win was way back on Jan. 12, when the Dutchmen led Towson wire-to-wire in a 74-60 win. Their last four victories have all required frantic second half comebacks. Finish this one off, get the little-used reserves some run and get some much-needed rest with a flight coming up tomorrow Delaware awaiting on Saturday.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.