What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State heated up in the second half to earn a 59-46 win over Wright State on Friday night at the Nutter Center as head coach Ron Hunter and senior Markus Crider returned home to Dayton, Ohio.
* Senior Markus Crider nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Jeff Thomas, also from Ohio (Norwalk) finished with 12 points.
* Georgia State will return home to face former CAA foe Old Dominion on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.
DAYTON, Ohio-Head coach Ron Hunter and senior Markus Crider returned home to Dayton, Ohio on Friday night with Crider just missing a double-double to lead Georgia State to a 59-46 win over Wright State at the Nutter Center.
Crider, who played at Wayne High School, finished with 10 points and eight rebounds as the Panthers overcame cold-shooting in the first half to shoot 68.4 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away for the win.
Redshirt-freshman Jeff Thomas, who also hails from Ohio (Norwalk), had a breakout game, finishing with 12 points and 4-of-8 shooting, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.
Georgia State (4-2) improved to 51-15 in its last 66 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013 and have won 10-of-13 games dating back to last season. The Panthers are 3-1 against members of the Horizon League over the last two seasons.
Wright State dropped to 3-5 as the Panthers held the Raiders to just 32.7 percent shooting. The Raiders' 17 turnovers led to 22 Georgia State points.
“I'm not going to use coach-speak tonight,” Hunter said. “It felt really good to come home and then get the win in front of so many family and friends. I was really happy for Markus as well to get to play in Dayton during his senior season.
“It wasn't a great first half for us, but as I have said, I really like the toughness of this team. They didn't let the first half bother them and came out and played a great second half.”
Hunter grew up in Dayton and played at Chaminade-Julienne High School. He took the Panthers to practice at his old high school on Thursday night.
Neither team performed well in the first half as Georgia State went into the locker room leading 24-20. The Panthers shot 39.1 percent and 1-of-5 from 3-point range, but held Wright State to just 25 percent shooting. The Raiders went 5-of-10 from 3-point range, but just 2-of-18 from inside the arc.
Leading by three, 30-27, early in the second half, Georgia State took control with a 13-0 run to build a 43-27 lead with 11:12 to play. The Panthers made eight-straight shots and 9-of-10 to start the second half.
Georgia State continued its hot-hand throughout the second half, shooting 13-of-19 from the floor after the break and finishing the game shooting 52.4 percent. The Panthers outscored the Raiders 32-10 in the paint and held a plus-one rebound advantage.
Junior Isaiah Dennis added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, dishing out three assists, while senior Kevin Ware and redshirt-sophomore Isaiah Williams each chipped in with eight points for the balanced Panther offense.
The Panthers finished 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the free throw line.
Wright State was led by J.T. Yoho who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Grant Benzinger added nine points for the Raiders.
Georgia State will return to Atlanta and face former CAA foe Old Dominion in the GSU Sports Arena on Saturday afternoon Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. It will be the second of four games against Conference USA opponents during the month of December.
