What you need to know:
* Georgia State shot rounds of 284 and 279 to stand in a tie for second at the Sun Belt Conference Preview.
* Senior J.J. Grey stands 6-under par following rounds of 69 and 67 to hold a one-stroke lead entering the final round.
* Following play this week, Georgia State will return to the course for the Cabo Del Sol Intercollegiate in Los Cabos, Mexico, Oct. 4-6.
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Led by individual leader J.J. Grey, Georgia State stands tied for second following two rounds of play at the Sun Belt Conference Preview at The Raven. The Panthers are just six strokes off the lead following rounds of 284 and 279 entering Sunday's final round.
Grey recorded a pair of impressive rounds on Saturday, opening with a 2-under 69, before shooting an afternoon 4-under 67 on the par-71 course which will also host the conference championship next April with a bid to NCAA Regional play on the line.
The senior, who already owns a school-record four career wins, has a one-stroke lead over Troy's Luke Moser who stands at 5-under. South Alabama's Daniel Jansen, UL Lafayette's Haraldur Magnus and Georgia Southern's Steven Fisk stand tied for third at 4-under with 18 holes to play.
“I was really happy with the progress we made today,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We have come a long way on this course compared to what we did here last April when we did not play the way we would like in a conference championship.
“J.J. Grey played really well for us today, but the funny thing is he still didn't play as well as he could. This course fits his eye well and I expect him to come out and play well on Sunday and have a great shot at another career win.”
Sophomore Max Herrmann, making his season debut, shot rounds of 72 and 69 to stand at 1-under par and tied for ninth entering the final round.
Junior Nathan Mallonee, coming off a tie for 11th at The Invitational earlier this month, shot back-to-back rounds of 71 to stand even par and tied for 12th.
Sophomore Alexander Herrmann added rounds of 72 and 75 to stand 5-over tied for 37th, while redshirt-freshman James Kyles shot 76-72 and is 42nd at 6-over par.
Freshman Nick Budd rounded out the Panthers line-up with rounds of 81 and 73. He is currently 10-over par and tied for 56th entering the last round. The tournament is utilizing a play-six, count-four format.
Troy shot an impressive 14-under 270 in the second round to stand at 11-under following 36 holes to hold a six-stroke lead over Georgia State and Georgia Southern which are 5-under. Little Rock stands in fourth at 3-under, followed by UL Lafayette and South Alabama which are tied for fifth at 3-over.
Georgia State will tee off with Georgia Southern and Troy beginning at 8:24 a.m. off the first tee on Sunday.
Following this week's tournament, the Panthers will return to action at the Cabo Del Sol Intercollegiate Oct. 4-6 on The Ocean Course in Los Cabos, Mexico.
