Georgia State Routed by George Mason 68-45

Photo Courtesy of George Mason Sports Communications

The Panthers competed well enough in the first half to build an 11 point lead, then the roof caved in.  Going 15 minutes without a made basket, turning the ball over 21 times and basically missing an opportunity to shake the CAA Tournament up a little more all slipped away tonight.

Eric Buckner played very well in the first half and trailed off due in large part to foul trouble in the second stanza and finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Senior Marques Johnson played well in his last game in Panther uniform with 9 points, 5 rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes.  The reigns now get turned over to Devonta White and he had a rough go vs. the #25 ranked Patriots scoring 4 points on 1-5 shooting and turning the ball over 3 times.

Dante Curry, who also played his last game, proved to be his enigmatic self again putting another 0 in the scoring column for the 7th time this season.

Josh Michaeux played well on the defensive end with 6 rebounds and 3 steal but had a team high 4 turnovers that were key in Mason's run.

The Coach Paul Graham Era at Georgia State ends at 1-1. 

Coming next week: My thoughts on the Roster Moving Forward into the offseason and into 2011-12.

Panthers Move to 2nd Round of the CAA Tourney, Win 58-52 over UNCW

Josh Micheaux led a balanced Panthers attack

Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications

This was a very good win.  The team could have easily came out with little effort and act defeated without its coach.  It did not.  It played inspired defensively and won both halves.  Yes, it's the 4th time in 6 tries that we've advanced out of the 1st round but the team played very good defense, shot efficiently and passed the ball well.  This is a great formula for sucess.

Josh Micheaux played very well with 14 points.  Eric Buckner was strong inside with 12 points, 8 boards and  blocks.  Jihad Ali had 9 points and 11 boards.  Marques Johnson ran the offense very well with 7 assists and 1 turnover in 31 minutes. 

Coach Paul Graham got his first win as Panthers interim coach and ran 11 players at the Seahawks who shot less than 30%. 

Next: Top seed and #25 ranked George Mason at Noon.  The game will be on CSS tape delayed beginning at 5pm.