Men's Basketball 12/3/2021 11:46:00 AM

I-75 Battle in Macon Saturday

ATLANTA-Squaring off with the opponent it has faced more than any other program, the Georgia State men's basketball team will make the short drive south to Macon to face Mercer in Hawkins Arena at 2 p.m., on Saturday.

Georgia State (4-2) will be back in action after Wednesday's game with Tennessee State was canceled out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19 contact tracing and with a limited roster due to injuries.

Georgia State and Mercer (4-4) will be meeting for the 86^th time in the first of a home-and-home series that will continue in GSU's new convocation center next season.

With a win on Saturday, senior Kane Williams would become the all-time wins leader in program history. He is currently averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He knocked down 15 free throws at Rhode Island last Saturday, tied for the fifth-most in program history.

Senior Justin Roberts is leading the Panthers averaging 18.6 points per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and 13-of-24 from 3-point range. His 54.2 3-point field goal percentage is ranked No. 4 in the country.
Roberts, along with fellow senior Corey Allen, are both closing in on 1,000 career points at Georgia State. Roberts stands at 807 points, while Allen is at 814. Between GSU and Detroit where he spent his first two seasons, Allen has 1,665 points, among the top 30 active scorers in the country.

Georgia State enters the game No. 20 in the NCAA in turnovers forced at 18.5 per game, while sitting at No. 25 in the country in turnover margin at +5.2.

Broadcast Information

Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5; PbP: Dave Cohen, Color: Lamont McIntosh
Television: ESPN+

Game Notes

Georgia State and Mercer meet for the 86th time on Saturday. GSU has faced the Bears more times than any other opponent in program history. The two teams split a pair of games last year.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Georgia State and Mercer have been the two most successful programs in the state with the Panthers winning 173 games and the Bears garnering 149 wins.
This will mark the first game of a home-and-home series that will continue in Atlanta next season.
Georgia State is returning to the court after having Wednesday's game with Tennessee State cancelled out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19 contract tracing protocols and multiple injuries to the team.
Senior Kane Williams is currently tied with Ryann Green and Chris Clerkley for the most wins in program history with 87 and can own the record all to himself with a win tonight.
The Panthers tied a school-record with 21 steals in the win over Brewton-Parker on opening night. Georgia State also allowed just 10 first half points, a school record and tied for the fewest in the NCAA this year.
Third year head coach Rob Lanier is closing in on 100 wins for his career (97). He previously spent four years as the head coach at Siena.
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.
Kane Williams broke Terrence Brandon's school record of 531 career free throw attempts last year and now has 593. He is second all-time with 430 made free throws, trailing only R.J. Hunter's school record of 448.
Williams is current in 7th on GSU's all-time scoring list with 1,324 career points. He is currently 51 points behind Chavelo Holmes for sixth and is 495 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 30 career active scorers in the country. He has scored 814 of those points in a Panther uniform.
Senior Justin Roberts now has 936 career points including 807 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.