INDIANAPOLIS-Junior R.J. Hunter scored 27 points, including 21 in the second half as Georgia State overcame a six-point deficit late to secure a 66-63 win over IUPUI at Fairgrounds Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The game marked the return of head coach Ron Hunter to IUPUI where he coached for 17 years before taking over at Georgia State in March 2011. It was also R.J.'s first game in Indianapolis where he starred for Pike High School.
Georgia State (5-2) trailed by as many as seven with less than 10 minutes to play and by one, 60-59, following a P.J. Boutte 3-pointer with 1:06 to play.
However, Hunter's lone 3-pointer gave the Panthers a two-point lead with 44 seconds to play and after a Markus Crider steal and pair of free throws by Ryann Green, Georgia State led by four with 17 seconds remaining.
IUPUI (2-4) returned to the other end of the court as Boutte made another 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one with 14 seconds remaining. Boutte finished with 12 points and eight assists.
Hunter was immediately fouled and made both free throws and a Leo Svete 3-point attempt fell short for the Panthers to secure the win.
Hunter finished 8-18 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the free throw line as the Panthers finished 18-of-24 from the charity line. He added three assists and three steals in the win. The junior moved ahead of James Andrews and into fifth on Georgia State's all-time scoring list and now has 1,291 points in two-plus seasons.
Senior Ryan Harrow added 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Redshirt-junior Kevin Ware came off the bench to score six points, grab six rebounds and swipe four of the Panthers 13 steals.
“One of the hardest things to do is be on the road for 10 days and then win that last game,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “We were mentally and physically exhausted, but give IUPUI a lot of credit, they played a great game. They controlled the pace and kept us out of our rhythm.
“R.J. was pressing early as he wanted to do well in front of all the people who came out to support him, but in the second half really settled down and played well. He struggled from 3-point range, but played smart and got the ball inside and made his free throws. I won't lie, I think this game carried a little extra emotion for both of us and it showed at times.”
IUPUI took an early 10-3 lead five minutes into the game as Georgia State picked up six fouls before the first media timeout. However, the Panthers responded with a 10-1 run to take a 13-11 lead with 11:49 to play in the first half and went into the break leading 27-26.
Georgia State held IUPUI to just 21.7 percent shooting in the first half, but the Jaguars made up the difference by making 15-of-17 free throws as the Panthers picked up 12 fouls in the opening 20 minutes.
The Panthers committed just six fouls in the second half and IUPUI never made it to the free throw line again.
Marcellus Barksdale led IUPUI with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range. DavRon Williams came off the bench to added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Jaguars.
Despite being held to two points after back-to-back career-highs, Crider added four steals and three rebounds after being in foul trouble the first half.
Georgia State outscored IUPUI 36-18 in the paint and finished with 27 points off 24 Jaguar turnovers.
Georgia State will return home on Thursday facing Green Bay in the GSU Sports Arena at 7 p.m. ET. It will be the Panthers only game before a Dec. 17 match-up with former conference rival Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va.
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