Panthers Face Road Test at College of Charleston Saturday

ATLANTA-Former conference foes Georgia State and College of Charleston will meet for the first time since 2006 on Saturday at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C., with tip set for 2 p.m. It will mark the first road game of the year for the Panthers.

Georgia State (1-0) is coming off a record-setting 104-35 win over Brewton-Parker on Wednesday night while the College of Charleston (1-0) topped USC Upstate 74-55 on opening night.

Saturday's contest can be heard live on GeorgiaStateSports.com with Sam Crenshaw calling the action. The game will also air live on FloHoops with Everett German and Danny Johnson on the call.

Both teams are coming off remarkable 24-win seasons last year. Previously members of the Atlantic Sun Conference in the mid-to-late 90's, the College of Charleston took Georgia State's spot in the Colonial Athletic Association when the Panthers left for the Sun Belt Conference. The two schools have previously met 15 times with the Cougars owning an 11-4 edge in the series.

Georgia State won new head coach Rob Lanier's debut on Wednesday night as the Panthers have been victorious in their last six regular season openers. Georgia State is looking to go 2-0 for the third time in the last five years.

In the opener senior Damon Wilson scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting while going a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Five Panthers finished in double figures including sophomore Kavonte Ivery who scored 13 points, trumping the nine total points he scored as a freshman.

All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team member Kane Williams, who also earned Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament recognition last year, finished with 14 points and six assists in the opener.

Freshmen Joe Jones III and Jalen Thomas both made successful debuts for the Panthers. Jones finished with seven points and nine rebounds, while Thomas added eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Notes:

With a 3-pointer on Saturday, Georgia State will have made at least one 3-pointer in 750 games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.
College of Charleston has currently won 11-straight games in the series after Georgia State won the first four times the two schools played.
Rob Lanier became the first Georgia State head coach since 1981-82 to win their debut with the Panthers. Seven previous coaches garnered a loss in their Georgia State debut.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers have won 135 games, the most of any NCAA Division 1 program in the state of Georgia.

Following Saturday afternoon's game, Georgia State will continue a stretch of five-straight games away from home on Friday, Nov. 15, at No. 4 Duke. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from Cameron Indoor Stadium and can be seen live on the ACC Network.

Quick Notes:
•   Georgia State is 1-0 for the sixth-straight year after earning a record-setting 104-35 victory over Brewton-Parker on Wednesday night.
•   The Panthers set a school-record with a 69-point victory, while allowing just 35 points which is the third-fewest in the history of the program.
•   With the win on Wednesday new head coach Rob Lanier became the first Georgia State head coach to win their debut since the 1981-82 season when Jim Jarrett won his debut. Lanier previously served as the Associate Head Coach at Tennessee.
•   Georgia State and College of Charleston, former conference foes, will meet for the 16th time on Saturday. The Cougars lead the series 11-4 and have won 11-straight meetings between the two.
•   The Panthers are looking to start a season 2-0 for the third-time in the last five years.
•   Last year, Georgia State made its second-straight and third NCAA Tournament in the last five years, the best stretch in program history.
•   Since returning to the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Georgia State has finished in the top two of the final regular season conference standings five times in six seasons.
•   During that same time frame, Georgia State has won more games (135) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.
•   Junior Kane Williams was selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team last Friday. He finished last year earning Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament recognition.
•   Williams is one of just nine active juniors in the country to have won conference tournament in each of their first two years and appeared in NCAA Tournament games.
•   Senior Damon Wilson scored a career-high 22 points in the regular season opener against Brewton-Parker. Wilson went an impressive 8-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
•   Sophomore Kavonte Ivery finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes against Brewton-Parker. As a freshman Ivery scored a total of nine points and played a total of 36 minutes.
•   After redshirting last year per NCAA transfer rules, Corey Allen and Justin Roberts made their debuts for the Panthers. Allen, the 2016-17 Horizon League Freshman of the Year while at Detroit, finished with 15 points and a pair of 3-pointers in the opener, while Roberts pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

#0 Kavonte Ivery: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#23 Joe Jones III: C; 6' 9"; Freshman

#2 Justin Roberts: G; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

#25 Jalen Thomas: F; 6' 10"; Freshman

#12 Kane Williams: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#1 Damon Wilson: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#0 Kavonte Ivery
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#23 Joe Jones III
: 6' 9"; Freshman
: C

#2 Justin Roberts
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#25 Jalen Thomas
: 6' 10"; Freshman
: F

#12 Kane Williams
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#1 Damon Wilson
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: G