The resumption of the basketball series between Georgia State and Kennesaw State after 34 years all came down to a red-and-white bucket of chicken.
When Antoine Pettway was hired as head coach at Kennesaw State in 2023, he was trying to round out his schedule and quickly connected with Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes. The two were friends and associates going back to their playing days in the early 2000s, Pettway at Alabama and Hayes at Georgia.
“I told Jonas, ‘I really need a home game. Is there any way we could play the first year at Kennesaw and we’ll play the next year at Georgia State?’” Pettway said.
That’s when Hayes played hardball at the bargaining table.
“I told him yes,” Hayes said. “But I wanted a bucket of chicken, some Modelo Light and some dark chocolate delivered to my hotel room the night before the game.”
The two agreed — although Hayes is still waiting for a knock on his door from Uber Eats, one that Pettway acknowledged will never come.
Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The two universities, separated by approximately 33 miles of I-75 asphalt, now have a standing date. They’ll play again on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Kennesaw State’s VyStar Arena, a game that was moved from Friday to accommodate the KSU fan base that wants to watch the football team in the Conference USA Championship on Friday night.
The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard locally on WRAS-FM 88.5 and the Georgia State sports app.
“These are the regional rivals that helps attendance and helps in a lot of different ways,” Hayes said. “As long as I have the opportunity to be the head basketball coach at Georgia State, we’re going to try to keep Kennesaw and Mercer on the schedule.”
“I appreciate Jonas for agreeing to do it. Kennesaw and Georgia State should play every year and we’re going to do it as long as I’m here. I know this place is going to be rocking,” Pettway said.
The two games between two of the state’s top mid-major programs — Georgia State went to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, Kennesaw State went in 2024 — have been competitive. Kennesaw State won 88-77 at home in 2023 and prevailed 81-77 in 2024 in Atlanta. Georgia State won the first three meetings in 1986-89.
“It’s not lost on me that we haven’t beaten them,” Hayes said. “I should put an owl on my ceiling so every time I open my eyes, I see an owl.”
The two teams have taken different paths this year.
Kennesaw State is 6-2 after beating Jackson State 88-73 on Tuesday. The Owls won the Coconut Hoops last month and are averaging 94.9 points per game, tops in Conference USA.
Senior Simeon Cottle, last week’s CUSA Player of the Week, leads the league with 21.4 points per game. The forward scored 28 points against Jackson State. Ramone Seals (11.8 points) and Braedan Lue (10 points) are among the eight players averaging at least seven points.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Georgia State is 1-8 after losing to Mercer 78-67 on Tuesday in Macon. The Panthers have struggled to score, averaging only 63.6 points per game — next-to-last in the Sun Belt Conference.
Georgia State has been without leading scorer Jelani Hamilton for the last three games because of a hamstring issue. Hamilton, a redshirt sophomore from Wheeler High School, averages 16.3 points and scored 26 against Cincinnati and 21 against South Dakota State before being sidelined.
Newcomers Micah Tucker (11.7 points) and Jakai Newton (10.2 points) have tried to pick up the slack. But GSU is shooting only 35.1% from the floor and just 28.4% on 3-pointers.
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