If the Panthers want to make sure they’re a contender in CAA play this season they might want to consider playing their home games at the McKenzie Center in Chattanooga. Just kidding! Last Wednesday and Thursday nights the Panthers shot lights-out in winning the championship of the Dr. Pepper Classic at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga with wins over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and then the host UTC Mocs. In the opener, Dante Curry, playing twenty-five minutes in place of a hobbled Jihad Ali, scored 18 points while shooting 6 of 10 from behind the three-point line as the Panthers blew out TAMCC 72-42. Then in the title game, Curry again had the hot hand, shooting 7 of 12 behind the line for 21 points in the leading the Panthers to an 81-76 win over Chattanooga to win the tournament. Eric Buckner finished with 23 points and 8 rebounds. “I am so proud of our team,” commented head coach Rod Barnes after the title game. “I am just so excited for this team. They came out and played hard. They deserve to be raising that trophy tonight. You have to give a lot of credit to Chattanooga. They kept fighting back and continued to play hard all night, but our guys just never gave up. We really got our hands up and altered their shots. They are a very good three-point shooting team, but we did a good job of defending them.” Both Curry and Buckner were named to the All-Tournament team while Curry was named the tournament’s MVP. Georgia State improved to 6-5 and has now won four of its last six games.
The Lady Panthers went 1-1 in this year’s 17th annual GSU Invitational Tournament. They beat Mississippi Valley State in the opener 91-65 before losing in the title game to Hampton 74-44. “I am disappointed in losing, but more disappointed that we can’t put two good games together yet this year,” said head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. “We are too inconsistent and have got to be ready to play aggressively on offense. Both Chan Harris and Angelique Burtts were named to the All-Tournament team.
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