Kane Williams
Daniel Wilson

Men's Basketball

Panthers Face Tough Field at Legends Classic This Weekend

ATLANTA-Facing a tough field for a two-day event, the Georgia State men's basketball team will open the Legends Classic at High Point facing William & Mary on Saturday at the Qubein Center on the campus of High Point.

Georgia State (2-1) is looking for a 3-1 start to the season for a second year in a row and will open the tournament facing a former CAA foe, William & Mary (0-3) still looking for its first win this season.

The Panthers are continuing a stretch of four-straight games away from home following a tough loss at Richmond on Tuesday night. Georgia State has put together a 15-11 record in MTE events over the last eight years including a pair of tournament titles.

Based off Saturday's result, the Panthers will face either host High Point or Howard on Sunday in either the title game (2 p.m.) or the consolation match (5 p.m.).

Senior Justin Roberts is leading the Panthers averaging 19.0 points per game while shooting 61.1 percent from the floor and 8-of-17 from 3-point range.

All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team member Corey Allen is averaging 17.3 points per game and was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team member Kane Williams enters the weekend with 1,261 career points and is just 18 points shy of James Andrews for seventh on GSU's all-time list. He is also just two made free throws from 400 which would make him just the second player in school history to accomplish that feat.

Georgia State enters the game No. 13 in the NCAA in steals per game at 12.0 per contest and is No. 41 averaging 10.3 3-pointers per game.

Broadcast Information
  • Radio: None
  • Television: ESPN+ (Sunday only)
Game Notes
• Georgia State will continue a stretch of four-straight games away from home playing in the Legends Classic at High Point, marking the ninth MTE for the Panthers in the last 11 years.
• The Panthers will play former CAA foe William & Mary on Saturday, followed by a match-up with either High Point or Howard on Sunday.
• GSU is looking to start the season 3-1 and potentially 4-1 for a second-straight year.
• The Panthers are 15-14 in MTE events since the start of the 2011-12 season winning the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge (2016-17) and the 2K Classic Regional Championship (2019-20).
• The Panthers tied a school-record with 21 steals in the win over Brewton-Parker on opening night. Justin Roberts set a career-high with six steals, while Nelson Phillips added five.
• GSU earned the top spot in the annual Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll as selected by the coaches.
• Seniors Corey Allen (1st Team), Kane Williams (Second Team) and Eliel Nsoseme (Second Team) were all selected to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Teams before the start of the season. Allen (Second Team) and Nsoseme (Third Team) earned postseason All-Sun Belt honors last spring.
• Kane Williams broke Terrence Brandon's school record of 531 career free throw attempts last year and now has 552. He is second all-time with 398 made free throws, trailing only R.J. Hunter's school record of 448.
• Williams moved into 8th on GSU's all-time scoring list with 1,261 career points on Tuesday. He is currently 18 points behind James Andrews for seventh and is 558 points behind R.J. Hunter's school record of 1,819.
• Senior Corey Allen now has 1,665 career points scored which is among the top 25 career active scorers in the country. He has scored 814 of those points in a Panther uniform.
• Senior Justin Roberts now has 900 career points including 771 in a Panther uniform. He and Allen are looking to become the 24th and 25th 1,000 point scorers in program history.
• Georgia State has won 55-straight games dating back to 1999 when scoring 90 or more points.
• Georgia State is under the leadership of third-year head coach Rob Lanier. His .648 winning percentage (35-19 record) is the best of any GSU head coach in their first two years leading the program.
• Since returning to the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Georgia State has finished in the top two of the final regular season conference standings six times in eight seasons.
• During that same time, GSU has won more games (171) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.

Following the games this weekend, Georgia State will have the week off for Thanksgiving before returning to the road to face Rhode Island on Nov. 27, in Kingston, R.I.

 
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Players Mentioned

Corey Allen

#11 Corey Allen

G
6' 2"
Senior
Eliel Nsoseme

#1 Eliel Nsoseme

F
6' 8"
Senior
Justin Roberts

#2 Justin Roberts

G
5' 10"
Senior
Kane Williams

#12 Kane Williams

G
6' 4"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Corey Allen

#11 Corey Allen

6' 2"
Senior
G
Eliel Nsoseme

#1 Eliel Nsoseme

6' 8"
Senior
F
Justin Roberts

#2 Justin Roberts

5' 10"
Senior
G
Kane Williams

#12 Kane Williams

6' 4"
Senior
G