Men's Basketball Heads North to Face Charlotte Friday

Kane Williams is just three points shy of 1,000 for his career.

ATLANTA-Looking to bounce back from a tough loss earlier this week, Georgia State will return to the road and make its way to North Carolina to face Charlotte on Friday night at 6 p.m., at Halton Arena.

The former Sun Belt Conference foes, Georgia State (2-1) is looking to start the season 3-1 for the third time in the last four seasons. Charlotte (0-1) will be playing just its second game after suffering multiple cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will mark the 30^th time the two schools meet and for the second straight season. Last year Georgia State rallied from a six-point deficit with 91 seconds to play and then topped Charlotte in overtime 81-78. Justin Roberts knocked down two 3-pointers in the final minute and Corey Allen hit two big shots with less than two minutes to play in overtime to give Georgia State the win.

Roberts has continued his hot hand into this season and earned Sun Belt Player of the Week and Lou Henson National Player of the Week honors earlier this week after leading the Panthers to two big wins to open the season.

Georgia State is averaging 99.0 points per game through three contests which ranks No. 11 in the country, while Roberts and Allen are both among the top 25 nationally in 3-pointers made this year.

The biggest impact among the newcomers has come in the form of junior Eliel Nsoseme who is averaging 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 70.4 percent from the floor.

Senior Kane Williams enters Friday night just three points shy of becoming the 23^rd Panther in program history to reach 1,000 career points scored.

Broadcast Information

Radio: GSU App/TuneIn Radio, PbP: Dave Cohen
Television: YouTube
Live Stats: GeorgiaStateSports.com

Game Notes
• Georgia State and Charlotte will meet for the 30th time and the second-straight season completing a head-to-head series.
• The Panthers and the 49'ers were Sun Belt Conference foes and met 17 times during the 1970's.
• Last year, GSU rallied from a six-point deficit with 91 seconds to play and then topped Charlotte in OT 81-78.
• Georgia State is looking to start a season 3-1 for the third time in four years.
• Georgia State opened the season scoring 100 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the 1991-92 season and currently rank No. 11 in the country averaging 99.0 ppg.
• Senior Kane Williams, an All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team member, enters Friday just 3 points shy of 1,000 for his career which would make him the 23rd Panther to reach the career milestone. He is 15 points shy of Chris Collier to move into 22nd on the all-time list.
• Williams has already become just the eighth player in program history to record 300 or more career assists.
• Senior Justin Roberts was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday a day after being named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week on Monday as well as the College Sports Madness Sun Belt Player of the Week.
• Georgia State's win over Georgia Tech on opening night gave the Panthers their first win ever over an ACC opponent. The Panthers set school records for points scored (123), combined points (243), fouls (37), combined fouls (65) while playing the first triple and quadruple overtime game in school history.
• Also in the win over Tech, four Panthers (Allen, Nsoseme, Roberts, and Williams) each scored 20 or more points marking the first time in program history that feat has been accomplished in a game.
• The win over Tech also gave the Panthers three wins over Power 5 programs in the last two-plus seasons. In 2018-19, Georgia State knocked off both Georgia and Alabama.
• Georgia State knocked down 16 3-pointers against Toccoa Falls last Friday, tied for the fourth-most in program history. The 37 attempts are tied for the fifth-most in program history.
• Justin Roberts, an All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team member, went 9-of-10 from the floor against Toccoa Falls, tied for the third-best field goal percentage in a single-game in school 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 seven seasons.
• During that same time, GSU has won more games (155) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.
• Georgia State is under the leadership of second-year head coach Rob Lanier. His 19 wins in his first year at the helm is the third-most by a first-year head coach in program history.
• Georgia State was selected to win the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference this year in the annual preseason poll by the coaches and media.

Following Friday night's game, Georgia State will have some time off for final exams before returning to the court on Dec. 16, at 6 p.m., hosting Mercer.

Print Friendly Version