ATLANTA – Eric Buckner scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 76-66 win over Virginia Commonwealth on Monday night.
The Panthers (7-5, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) led 34-30 at halftime despite trailing for a majority of the opening 20 minutes.
Buckner started the second half with six quick points as Georgia State stretched its lead to 42-32 with 16:19 left on the clock.
The Rams (9-5, 1-1) cut their deficit to six, 56-50, on two free throws from Jamie Skeen with 5:36 to go. But that was as close as they would get.
Skeen led VCU with 16 points, Bradford Burgess added 13 and Joey Rodriguez and Darius Theus 10 apiece.
The Panthers had four players with at least five rebounds and posted a 43-25 edge on the glass.
Josh Micheaux scored 14 and Marques Johnson scored 12 points for Georgia State, which has won three straight.
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