ARLINGTON, Texas-Georgia State overcame an 11-point second-half deficit as R.J. Hunter scored 32 points and Ryan Harrow added 25 to lead the Panthers an 88-74 win over UT Arlington on Thursday night at the College Park Center.
Trailing 62-51 with a little more than 11 minutes to play, Georgia State responded with a 29-4 run to take an 80-69 lead with 3:02 to play and never look back.
Hunter got hot in the second half, knocking down six of his seven 3-pointers and finished 9-of-16 from the floor, 7-of-11 from 3-point range and 7-of-7 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Harrow was equally impressive going 9-of-19 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, dishing out four assists and swiping four of the Panthers eight steals. He is now just five points shy of becoming just the fifth Panther to score 1,000 points in a GSU uniform. If he accomplishes it Saturday, it will occur in just 54 games, the second-quickest in program history.
Georgia State (14-7, 7-3 Sun Belt) won its third-straight game to remaining a half-game out of first-place in the league. The Panthers are 36-10 in the last 46 games dating back to last season and have also won 24 of their first 28 conference games since returning to the Sun Belt. The squad is off to the fourth-best start in school history.
Head coach Ron Hunter picked up the 350th win of his career and 76th at the helm of Georgia State.
The Panthers finished 25-of-27 from the free throw line, the 11th-best mark in program history, and shot 50.9 percent for the game, including 16-of-29 in the second half.
UT Arlington (12-8, 6-4 Sun Belt) saw its three-game win streak come to an end and was swept in the season series by the Panthers for the second year in a row. Kevin Hervey led the Mavericks with 21 points and eight rebounds.
“In the second half, we came out defensively and really played the type of ball that we have been playing as of late,” Hunter said. “Ryan and R.J. really took over the game in the second half and played like two of the best players in the league.
“R.J. has been waiting for a game like this where he could really get into a rhythm and couldn't miss in the second half. Ryan was equally impressive and played smart basketball. Everyone gave us great play on defense in the second half and that was the difference.”
As the two teams were tied five times in the first half with neither squad leading by more than six, UT Arlington led 30-24 with 5:43 to play benefiting from 51.7 percent first half shooting.
The Panthers responded with a 10-4 run, capped by a jumper in the lane and free throw by Hunter to tie the score 34-34. The Mavericks went into the half leading 38-34.
The Mavericks took their biggest lead of the game, 62-51, with 11:10 to play before Georgia State's run and took its first lead of the second half on a pair of free throws by Ryann Green to go ahead 69-67 with 5:57 to play.
Junior Markus Crider added eight points for the Panthers, while Green recorded five points and five rebounds. Kevin Ware, who missed the first half for a violation of team rules, added five second-half points.
Lonnie McClanahan scored 14 points for the Mavericks and Jorge Bilbao added 11 points and five rebounds.
UT Arlington was held to just 41.9 percent shooting in the second half and the second-best 3-point shooting team in the Sun Belt was held to just 5-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Georgia State will return home and face Arkansas State on Saturday in the GSU Sports Arena at 2 p.m.
