Game Highlights
Postgame Press Conference - Rod Barnes
Chattanooga, Tenn.--Eric Buckner scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Dante Curry poured in 21 points on seven three-point field goals as Georgia State captured the title of the Dr. Pepper Classic with an 81-76 victory over host Chattanooga Thursday night at McKenzie Arena.
Curry followed an 18-point effort in the tournament opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to claim Most Valuable Player honors. His 21 points tonight equaled his career best, set in his first game in a GSU uniform against Georgia Tech, and his seven treys are the most by a Panther since Thomas Terrell also nailed seven against Florida Atlantic in 2001-02.
Georgia State improved to 6-5 and has won four of its last six, while Chattanooga, which had won 13 of 20 Dr. Pepper Classics, fell to 7-7 on the season.
"I am so proud of our team," commented head coach Rod Barnes after the game. "I am just so excited for this team. They came out and played hard. They deserve to be raising that trophy tonight.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Chattanooga. They kept fighting back and continued to play hard all night, but our guys just never gave up. We really got our hands up and altered their shots. They are a very good three-point shooting team, but we did a good job of defending them."
Curry made his first start of the season, filling in for Jihad Ali. The senior finished the game 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range.
Buckner, who was also named to the all-tournament team, finished 10-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, including a pair of key ones with just over two minutes remaining in the game. The junior pulled down eight rebounds and added two blocks.
The Panthers finished the tournament trailing for only 12 seconds of action in earning the two wins.
The Panthers built an early first half lead, before pulling away with a barrage of three-pointers. State knocked down three straight three-pointers with just under ten minutes remaining in the half to start to pull away.
Following a dunk by Buckner, Curry and freshman Devonta White hit back-to-back three-pointers to give State a 28-15 lead with 8:30 remaining in the half.
With just over four minutes remaining, Buckner threw down his second dunk and was followed by a Josh Micheaux steal and lay-up to extend the Panthers lead to 37-24 with three minutes remaining in the half.
A pair of free throws by junior Brandon McGee gave the Panthers a 39-24 lead, their biggest of the game, before Chattanooga rallied before the half, cutting the deficit to just eight at 39-31 as the horn sounded.
The Mocs continued to heat up in the second half, led by Omar Wattad and DeAntre Jefferson, who each finished with 19 points a piece.
Ricky Taylor made the first of two free throws with 2:34 remaining to cut the Panthers lead to four points, before Buckner made the pair of key free throws.
Wattad followed with a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to just three. Freshman Devonta White knocked down a key jumper with 1:26 remaining to finally put the game out of reach.
White, making his fourth straight start, finished with 10 points and four assists.
Junior James Fields added five points, seven rebounds and five assists, while junior Josh Micheaux came off the bench to play 25 minutes and score eight points, while dishing out a team-high seven assists.
Taylor and Keegan Bell added 16 and 15 points respectively for the Mocs.
The Panthers shot a season high 54.5 percent from the field, knocking down 10-of-24 from behind the arc. State held the hosts to just 23.5 percent from three-point range, including an 0-for-13 start from long range.
Georgia State will return to action on Monday, Jan. 3 in the Sports Arena for a key CAA match-up against VCU at 7 p.m. Tickets for that game, as well as the Panthers remaining home games can be bought by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or by going online to GeorgiaStateSports.com.
Live radio coverage is available on WRAS-FM 88.5, 30 minutes prior to tip. Live statistics and live video can be followed at GeorgiaStateSports.com.
--GeorgiaStateSports.com--
