ATLANTA - Georgia State defeated Arkansas State 76-60 in a dominant performance Thursday night at the GSU Sports Arena, securing its third-straight 20-plus win season.

Jeff Thomas led five players in double figures for Georgia State (20-9, 11-5 Sun Belt) with 15 points, knocking down five 3-pointers. The Panthers hit 14 3-pointers for the game, connecting on 46.7 percent from long range.

Georgia State has now won 20 or more games in six of the eight seasons since Ron Hunter took over the program before the 2011-12 season.

Junior D'Marcus Simonds scored 14 points, becoming the program's all-time leader in field goal attempts after earlier this season establishing a new field goal made career record. Senior Devin Mitchell scored 13 points including four 3-pointers, giving him 74 on the year and moving him into the top 10 for triples made in a single season after making 98 last year. Damon Wilson added 12 points and four assists after earning the start.

Ty Cockfield, from nearby Gainesville, Ga., led all scorers with 20 points for Arkansas State (12-16, 6-9 Sun Belt). Grantham Gillard chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.

Malik Benlevi scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, becoming the 22nd Panther in program history to score 1,000 career points. Benlevi moved into eighth on Georgia State's all-time list with 166 made three-pointers.

“That is the defensive effort I have been waiting on for a while,” Hunter said. “We came out a little slow, but then I thought played really well on both ends of the court the rest of the game. I thought Damon was really big for us tonight and has been playing really well as of late. We needed some energy and I thought he was really good tonight.

“I normally don't talk about these things, but to win 20 games again is really special to me. To do it six times in the last eight years shows what we are trying to do with this program. We are building a program that is now recognized nationally and I am extremely proud of that.”

Georgia State trailed for a good portion of the first half, getting out-rebounded 23-11 while struggling from the field to start the game. But the Panthers began to heat up on both ends of the floor, forcing 12 Arkansas State turnovers that led to 17 points. Georgia State trailed by as many as seven, but a late 12-0 run helped the Panthers to a 37-29 halftime lead.

The Panthers came out firing in the second half, hitting 3-pointers on its first four buckets. Georgia State controlled the game from there, leading by as many as 23 points after a 17-3 run. The Panthers shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second half, while holding the Red Wolves to just 34.4 percent.

Georgia State forced Arkansas State into 19 turnovers which led to 25 points. The Red Wolves were also held to just 7-of-27 shooting from 3-point range.

Georgia State will conclude the home portion of the schedule hosting Little Rock for Senior Day on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.

Notes:

• Georgia State's 20-9 start to the season is tied for the fourth-best 29-game start in program history.
• Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers have won more games (130) than any other NCAA Division I team in the state of Georgia.
• Georgia State improved to 18-0 when leading at halftime this season.