ATLANTA-Eric Buckner poured in a career-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 76-66 victory over VCU Monday at the GSU Sports Arena, giving the Panthers their first victory over VCU in 13 tries since joining the Colonial Athletic Association in 2004.
Georgia State won its third straight to improve to 7-5, 2-0 in the CAA, while VCU fell to 9-5, 1-1 CAA.
After going 12-for-16 from the field tonight, the 6-10 Buckner has now made 33 of his last 39 shots over four games.
A pair of players scored in double figures off the bench for the Panthers as junior Josh Micheaux contributed 14 points and five rebounds, and senior Marques Johnson added 12 points.
The Panthers, who led the entire second half, shot 50.9 percent from the field, topping the 50-percent mark for the fourth straight game, while holding VCU to just 33.3 percent shooting, including 6-for-23 from beyond the arc. Georgia State outrebounded the Rams, 43-to-29.
"I thought we did a really good job all night handling VCU's pressure," commented head coach Rod Barnes.
"I thought Eric Buckner was special tonight. He showed the type of impact player he could be."
VCU featured four players in double figures, led by Jamie Skeen with 16. Bradford Burgess scored 13, and Darius Theus and Joey Rodriguez added 10 points each.
The Panthers took a 34-30 advantage into the intermission and then opened the second half with a jumper by Johnson and then a dunk by Buckner to quickly build an eight-point advantage.
After a bucket by VCU's Ed Nixon, Buckner made back-to-back layups to push the lead to 10 at 42-32 with 16 minutes to play, and from there, the Panthers managed to keep the Rams at arms length. VCU twice closed to within six points with the ball, but GSU came up with key defensive stops and hit 14 of 19 free throws in the second half to seal the win.
Georgia State trailed by seven points at 22-15 midway through the first half before tying the game with an 8-1 run, highlighted by back-to-back jumpers by Johnson.
"I thought we had some guys step up and make some free throws down the stretch and that is what we are going to need to do to be competitive every night in this league.
The Panthers will have less than 48 hours to prepare for their next game. State will travel to Wilmington, N.C. on Tuesday to face UNC Wilmington on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Seahawks earned a 61-59 win over William & Mary on Monday night to improve to 7-6 and 1-1 in CAA play.
State will return home on Saturday to face Towson at 6 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena. Tickets for that game and all remaining home games can be purchased by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com.
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