ATLANTA – R.J. Hunter scored 25 points and Ryan Harrow added 20 points and seven assists as Georgia State won its fifth straight game with an 81-72 victory over Troy in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams Thursday at the GSU Sports Arena.
Hunter grabbed a career-high seven steals, one shy of the GSU record, as the Panthers forced 23 Troy turnovers, converting them into 33 points.
Georgia State has won six of its last seven games to improve to 8-6 overall, 1-0 in the Sun Belt. Troy fell to 5-8, 0-1 Sun Belt. The Panthers were playing their first Sun Belt Conference game since 1981 after helping found the league in 1976.
The Panthers shot 52 percent from the field and went 16-for-18 from the free throw line.
Hunter hit 8-of-14 shots from the field and 7-of-8 from the line, while Harrow was 7-for-14 on field goals and 6-for-6 at the charity stripe.
Curtis Washington added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Manny Atkins grabbed a team-high six rebounds along with nine points, and Devonta White had six points and six assists. Markus Crider also scored six points off the bench on three emphatic dunks.
“I have always said that there is no such thing as a bad win,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “However, tonight was awfully close. We did not play with the effort that it will take to win games in this league.
“With that said, I thought Troy played really hard tonight. They outrebounded us, out hustled us and gave some great effort for all 40-minutes.”
The Panthers led 36-31 late in the first half before scoring seven points in the final 40 seconds, including five in the last three seconds of the half, to take a 44-31 lead into the locker room. Harrow made a driving layup with 40 seconds to go, and after a Troy turnover, he fed Crider for the slam with three seconds left. Troy's Kevin Thomas travelled on the inbounds play, allowing Hunter to get off a three-pointer with 0.8 second left. He missed the shot but was fouled and made the three free throws.
Georgia State built its lead to as many as 16 points early in the second half and maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the half. The final nine-point margin was as close as the Trojans could get.
Hunter Williams led Troy with 18 points, all on 3-pointers, and Kevin Thomas added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Antoine Myers added 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Panthers outscored the Trojans 46-24 in the paint to improve to 9-2 against the Trojans all-time in the Sports Arena.
Next up is Georgia State's first Sun Belt road test Saturday at South Alabama. Tipoff in Mobile, Ala., is at 5 p.m. ET.
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