MOBILE, Ala.-Junior R.J. Hunter scored 19 points and senior Curtis Washington pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 65-54 win over South Alabama on Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.
Playing without leading scorer Ryan Harrow who missed the game with concussion-like symptoms, the Panthers held the Jaguars to just 27.8 percent shooting. It marked the third-straight game Georgia State held its opponent under 30 percent shooting.
Georgia State (16-8, 9-4 Sun Belt) topped the Jaguars for the fourth-straight contest and won for 38th time in the last 49 games dating back to last season. The Panthers have won 26 of 31 conference games since returning to the Sun Belt last season.
Hunter filled up the stat line, finishing with five assists, five rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals in 38 minutes. His three steals tie him with Devonta White for third on Georgia State's all-time list with 164.
Washington added six points and four blocks, earning a start and playing 25 minutes. Markus Crider added 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Kevin Ware, who earned the start for Harrow, scored 15 points and pulled down five boards.
South Alabama (7-17, 5-8 Sun Belt) had four players in double figures, led by 17 points from Taishaun Johnson. The freshman guard played alongside R.J. Hunter at Pike High School in Indianapolis.
“We are really rolling on defense right now,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “We have been struggling a little on offense, but when you can hold a team under 30 percent shooting, you are going to win a lot of games. I thought it was a great team win and really proud of the way the guys buckled down, especially in the second half.”
Georgia State built an early lead, 17-7, with 9:33 to play in the first half, holding the Jaguars scoreless for more than seven minutes midway through the half.
The Panthers led by as many as 12 in the opening 20 minutes before South Alabama used a 12-0 run to tie the game at 24-24 with 13 seconds remaining. Georgia State went into the locker room with a 26-24 lead as Hunter finished the first half with 12 points.
South Alabama took its biggest lead of the game, 34-30, with 16:26 remaining before Georgia State responded with an 11-0 run to build a 41-34 lead with 13:09 to play.
Leading by just three with six minutes to play, Georgia State got a 3-pointer from the corner by Ryann Green followed by a jumper in the lane from Ware to push the lead to 56-48 with 4:20 to play and never look back.
South Alabama made one last run and cut Georgia State's lead to five with 58 seconds to play, but the Panthers went 6-of-6 from the free throw line over the final minute to secure the win while holding the Jaguars scoreless.
Green finished with a career-high nine points and pulled down five rebounds.
After shooting 29 percent from the floor in the first half, Georgia State responded by shooting 60 percent in the second half, turning 16 South Alabama turnovers into 21 points.
The Jaguars also got double-figure scoring from Dionte Ferguson (12), Ken Williams (11) and Barrington Stevens (10). South Alabama was held to 6-of-24 shooting from 3-point range.
Georgia State will have the week off before concluding its stretch of three-straight road games at Texas State on Feb. 14. The game will tip at noon ET and can be seen live on ESPN2.
