GREENVILLE, N.C. – Senior Manny Atkins finished with a double-double and one of three Panthers to score 20 or more to lead Georgia State to a 89-82 win over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.
Atkins scored 27 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds for his second double-double in the last three games. Redshirt-junior Ryan Harrow added 24 points and nine assists, while sophomore R.J. Hunter finished with 22 as Georgia State (7-6) won its fourth-straight game and for the fifth time in the last six games.
Five East Carolina (10-4) players finished in double-figures, led by Akeem Richmond ,who knocked down seven 3-pointers.
Atkins finished 11-of-14 from the floor, tying a career-high in rebounds set just two games ago against in-state foe Georgia State.
Redshirt-junior Curtis Washington added eight points and eight rebounds with senior Devonta White finishing with eight points and six assists for Georgia State.
“I am just really proud of our guys,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “I told them in the locker room after the game that this was a great road win for us. East Carolina is a really good team and to come one the road and get a win like this is big for our team.
“This win for us was a product of the tough early-season schedule that we played. We have been to Vanderbilt, Alabama, Southern Miss, places that are tough to play. We learned from those experiences and it paid off today.”
Georgia State built its lead to as many as 14 with 8:05 to play in the first half. Atkins made his first five shots, including 3-pointer and Hunter continued his hot play, knocking down a 3-point just one minute into the game. Hunter was coming off of a 41-point performance last week at UTSA.
Redshirt-junior Curtis Washington scored six-straight points in the middle of the half, finishing the first half with eight points and six rebounds in the opening period.
A free throw by ECU's Paris Roberts-Campbell with 1:06 to play cut Georgia State's first-half lead to six. It was the closest the Pirates got in the opening period after trailing by 14 before half time.
East Carolina went 8-of-17 from the free throw line in the first half, while Georgia State went just 2-of-3.
Akeem Richmond's 3-pointer with 17:40 to play in the game tied the score at 40, the first time the game was tied since the opening tip.
The Pirates took their first lead, 48-47, following a pair of Caleb White free throws with 14:35 to play. It proved to be ECU's only lead of the game as Georgia State responded with a 9-0 run to take a 56-48 lead with 11:14 to play as Harrow made a pair of impressive lay-ups in the lane.
The Panthers extended the run to 14-3 over a five-minute stretch, building the lead to 61-51 with 10:07 to play.
Georgia State made its free throws down the stretch, finishing 15-of-21 from the line to secure the victory.
Devonta White's second half steal moved him into a tie with Shernard Long (1999-2001) for fourth all-time in program history with 144.
After going 1-of-11 from 3-point range in the first half, the Pirates went 7-of-20 in the second half.
Prince Williams added 18 points for the Pirates, while Michael Zangari added 16 and Caleb White finished with 13. Brandan Stith finished with 12 rebounds off the bench.
Georgia State was playing its fifth Conference USA opponent this year, finishing 3-2 against the league.
The Panthers, who lead the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game with just 8.8 per game, turned the ball over only nine times on Sunday, while dishing out 18 assists.
Georgia State will return home to face Troy in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams on Jan. 2 in the GSU Sports Arena at 7 p.m. For tickets, visit GeorgiaStateSports.com or call 1-866-GA-STATE.
