ATLANTA--Senior Dante Curry and freshman Javonte Maynor combined for 30 points and nine of Georgia State's 11 three-pointers as the Panthers defeated Troy, 80-70, in their home opener Friday at the GSU Sports Arena.
Curry scored a game-high 15 points on five treys, and Maynor, the rookie from South Gwinnett High, also scored 15 with four treys. Senior Marques Johnson and junior Jihad Ali also reached double figures for the Panthers (1-1) with 10 points each. Harold Doby led GSU on the boards with 11 rebounds, along with six points.
Georgia State's 11 three-pointers, which came on 23 attempts, are the most by the Panthers since 2007-08 and their second highest total under head coach Rod Barnes.
"It was a great win for us," commented Barnes. "I have been telling the team that we don't need to worry about winning and losing as much as we need to work on getting better. We needed to play better than we played on Tuesday night. I thought we had a great team effort and played much better this evening."
Levan Patsatsia scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead Troy (1-2).
The Trojans dropped their second in a row after winning their season opener. Will Weathers added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while making 8-of-12 free throws.
"Troy has a very good team and I have great respect for what they are able to do offensively."
In a first half that featured seven lead changes, the Panthers trailed 24-23 with six minutes to play in the period before closing the half on a 14-5 run. A jumper by Maynor gave GSU the lead for good at 25-24, and Curry hit a pair of treys down the stretch, including one with three seconds left to send the Panthers into the locker room with a 37-29 advantage.
After Troy scored the first bucket of the second half to pull within 37-31, Georgia State exploded for four straight three-pointers, three in a row by Maynor and then one by Curry to push its lead to 49-31 with 15 minutes to play. From there, the Panthers maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
"We have got a lot of guys who can shoot the ball well, especially some of the young guys. We have more depth on this team than we have had in the past and we do not have to rely on one guy to make all the shots. Tonight, we were able to play a lot of guys and our depth really showed on the court."
The Panthers were efficient on offense, connecting on 48 percent from the field and collecting 18 assists on 27 baskets.
The Panthers will play five of their next six games at home, with the lone trip to face Hampton in Virginia. State has won 5-of-7 at home dating back to the end of last season.
State will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 23, when Utah Valley makes the cross-country trip to Atlanta. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Panthers earned a 59-52 win over the Wolverines in the first round of the South Alabama Thanksgiving Classic last November.
As a reminder to fans, tickets for that game and all games are now on-sale by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com or by calling 1-866-GA-STATE. Fans can also purchase the Flex Plan for just $85, which gives fans 10 vouchers to use over the course of the season.
--GeorgiaStateSports.com--
