Georgia State wins Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge
CANCUN, Mexico — Georgia State won the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge on Wednesday at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya Hotel with an impressive 82-65 win over Eastern Kentucky. Senior Justin Seymour, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with 15 points, knocking down 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
A day after scoring 26 points, freshman D’Marcus Simonds earned all-tournament MVP honors adding eight points and three steals in just 23 minutes for Georgia State which improved to 3-2. Junior Isaiah Williams led the Panthers on Wednesday with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, knocking down a pair from 3-point range as Georgia State went 9-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Despite 21 points from Nick Mayo and 10 points and eight rebounds from Zach Charles, Eastern Kentucky fell to 2-4.
“I thought those games that we played last week really prepared us to come down here and play well,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Defensively we have been outstanding all year. We have been holding teams to under 40 percent shooting and our guys are really getting after it. It is a fun team to coach and it will be great to bring this trophy back to Atlanta.”
Hunter picked up his 106th career win at Georgia State and is now just one shy of tying Bob Reinhart’s school record of 107.
The sixth-year head coach will look to tie the record when Georgia State hosts Wright State on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena. The game will serve as the annual Samaritan’s Feet game in which Hunter goes barefoot to raise awareness for the organization.
