The men’s basketball team closed out the regular season with a 69-41 loss at Virginia Commonwealth and head back to Richmond this week as the No. 8 seed in the 2009 CAA Tournament. The Panthers will face Delaware on Friday at noon in the first game (WRAS-FM, 88.5). In the VCU game, Rashad Chase, who played in his 118th career game to tie the school record held by Lamont McIntosh, led with 10 points and eight rebounds, but the Panthers were hurt by too many turnovers (21) and poor shooting (33 percent), mostly a result of VCU’s pressure.

“You cannot come into someone else’s home on Senior Night when they are playing for a championship and turn the ball over as much as we did and expect to have a chance,” said head coach Rod Barnes. “Obviously we didn’t play very well, and we didn’t handle their pressure very well. Some of that was our fault but a lot of that was VCU, so give them the credit.”

The rest of the field for the first round features Hofstra vs. UNC-Wilmington, James Madison vs. William & Mary, and Drexel vs. Towson. The top four teams, VCU, George Mason, Northeastern and Old Dominion earned a first-round bye. If Georgia State can get past Delaware, the Panthers will face the top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth yet again. “Our kids are still confident,” Barnes said. “Now we’re all 0-0 going into the tournament, so we’ll go home and get ready to come back up here and play a tough game Friday.”

WOMEN WIN

The Lady Panthers pulled out a 70-67 win over UNC-Wilmington last week after the Seahawks battled back from a 21-point deficit. Danyiell McKellar led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds while Brittany Hollins added 12 points, three steals, three blocks, three assists and three rebounds. Crystal Johnson added eight points, eight assists and six steals.

“This team never gives up and plays determined,” said head coach Lea Henry. “Tonight they did what they needed to do to get a win. The score does not indicate how much we controlled the tempo for 30 minutes, but we let them back in by being in foul trouble and softening up on defense.”

BASEBALL STEPS UP

With the rain and snow last weekend in Atlanta, the baseball team still managed to get two games in against Eastern Michigan on Saturday and scored 26 runs in winning both games, 14-6 and 12-6. Jonathan Kolowich finished the two games batting 4-for-8 with three RBIs, three runs scored and his second home run of the year. In the second game, Chase Childers had the hot bat, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. The Panthers are now off to a 6-1 start.

Join us every Sunday afternoon (4-5 p.m.) for the Rod Barnes/Georgia State Basketball coaches show on WGKA-AM 920. The show is broadcast live from The Panther’s Den restaurant in the Citizens Trust Bank building, 75 Piedmont Road, on campus. … Follow the Panthers online at www.georgiastatesports.com. For basketball and football ticket information call 1-866-GA-STATE.

Dave Cohen is in his 26th season as the “Voice of Georgia State Basketball and Baseball” on WRAS-FM (88.5) and works on the football radio crew at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.