East Carolina vs. Georgia State: Head coach Ron Hunter thinks lack of experience hurt Panthers

The Georgia State Panthers had their three-game winning streak snapped on Monday night against the East Carolina Pirates, losing, 62-53, at home. The young Panthers were taken to school by the older and more experienced Pirates, especially in the rebounding department. GSU was outrebounded, 47-26, and only managed to pull down five offensive boards as a team.

Head coach Ron Hunter knew early on that things probably wouldn't go well for the Panthers:

"My boys played men tonight," Hunter said. "My 18- and 19-year-olds got beat by 21- and 22-year-old men. I knew that eight minutes into the game. I was just hoping we could make some shots to offset it but if we weren’t going to make any shots, I didn’t think we had much of a chance."

Two ECU players, Robert Sampson and Maurice Kemp, pulled down double-digit rebounds for the Pirates, who advanced to 5-0 with the win. GSU shot under 40% from the floor as a team, including a miserable 4-18 from three-point range. However, Hunter knows that as tough as nights like last night will be, things will improve over time as the team matures and gains more experience:

"You can’t rush experience," Hunter said. "It has to happen naturally. Our guys have been on a fast track. Experience is something you can’t recruit. Experience is something that takes time."

The Panthers next play on Friday night when they take on Louisiana Tech.