ATLANTA-Georgia State's R.J. Hunter set the school's all-time scoring record and the Panthers defeated UL Lafayette 75-64 on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena. Senior Ryan Harrow finished with 19 to lead the Panthers who moved within a half-game of first-place.
Hunter entered the game tied with Rodney Hamilton (1994-98) with 1,515 career points, but his jumper with 9:44 to play in the opening half gave him the record. Hunter broke the record in just 84 games and finished with the afternoon with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Georgia State (13-7, 6-3 Sun Belt) won for the 35th time in the last 45 games dating back to last year and are 23-4 in conference games since returning to the Sun Belt. The Panthers have won 21 of their last 22 games at home.
UL Lafayette (11-9, 5-4 Sun Belt) got a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds from senior Shawn Long, but shot just 33.9 percent from the game and were held to 5-of-19 shooting from 3-point range.
“I thought our guys were really locked in today and did a really nice job,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “ULL is a very good basketball team and all of our games have been battles. A lot of guys played really well and at the end of the day, we did what we needed to do…win at home.
“As I have said, I am not big on individual accomplishments, but tonight I am going to be dad and enjoy what R.J. has accomplished. It is a special thing for our family and I am really proud of him. I am also proud of Ryann Green being named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award today. It could not happen to a better student-athlete.”
Harrow finished 8-of-17 from the floor and added five rebounds for the Panthers, while Kevin Ware and Markus Crider each scored in double figures, adding 11 and 10 points respectively.
Leading 13-10 with 11:03 to play in the first half, Georgia State went on a 9-0 run capped by a fast break lay-up by Harrow to build a 22-10 lead with 6:34 to play. Hunter's record-breaking jumper came as part of the run.
Georgia State pushed the lead to as many as 14 and went into the break leading 32-18 as UL Lafayette never got closer than nine. The Panthers held the Ragin' Cajuns to just 25 percent shooting in the half and forced 13 turnovers which led to 10 points.
Harrow's 3-pointer with 18:35 to play in the first half gave the Panthers a 3-pointer in 600-straight games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.
The Panthers pushed the lead to as many as 22 in the second half with 15:45 to play, before the Ragin' Cajuns made one last run, cutting Georgia State's lead to nine with 2:13 to play.
Jay Wright added 14 points to ULL, while Brian Williams finished with nine points and five rebounds.
Georgia State finished the game shooting 51.9 percent and made 17-of-23 free throws. Hunter finished 7-of-8 from the line and with his fourth make, became the all-time leading free throw shooter in GSU history. He entered the day second in school history in free throw percentage, only behind Hamilton.
Curtis Washington added a blocked shot in the second half to give him 100 for his career, just the seventh Panther in program history to accomplish the feat.
Georgia State will return to action on Thursday traveling to UT Arlington in a rematch from earlier this month won by the Panthers, 83-62. Tip is set for
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