Georgia State coach Ron Hunter wasn’t happy with his team’s shot selection, rebounding or ability to hold onto the ball after the Panthers were beaten 58-54 by Georgia Southern on Thursday. It was, Hunter said, the worst game his team played in its last 10.
With the victory, the Eagles (16-4, 9-2) stretched their lead over the Panthers (15-8, 8-4) in the Sun Belt standings to 1 ½ games.
“I didn’t think we played well at all today, and we had an opportunity to win,” he said. “We were just all over the place. We never got into a rhythm. We didn’t play really smart basketball.”
The Panthers knew the Eagles would play tough defense. In their previous four wins, Georgia Southern limited opponents to 33.3 percent shooting and 50.6 points per game.
But even Hunter was surprised by how much trouble his team had. The clearest indicators were the Panthers shooting just nine free throws to the Eagles’ 29, and the Panthers committing 15 turnovers, including several that were unforced. Both showed a lack of aggression and patience.
The Panthers shot 41.1 percent, but it included 13 missed 3-pointers. R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow combined to score 29 points, but those took 33 shots. Markus Crider led the team with 14 points and seven rebounds.
“We settled and it showed,” Ron Hunter said.
The Panthers also had a difficult time keeping Georgia Southern off the boards, resulting in them being outrebounded by five, including giving up 15 offensive rebounds. The second chances helped the Eagles overcome hitting 28.6 percent of their shots. Mike Hughes led the Eagles with 15 points.
“We talked all halftime about needing to rebound better,” Hunter said.
Georgia State led by as much as nine after a Jordan Session dunk with 11:36 left.
The Eagles fought back to eventually tie the game on a 3-pointer by Curtis Diamond, another by Jelani Hewitt, who was 1-of-10 before making that shot, two more free throws and a 3-pointer by Hughes with 7:36 left.
Georgia Southern took its first lead, 43-41, since the early minutes of the first half on two free throws by Trent Wiedeman with 6:26 left.
“They had an opportunity where they might run away with the game,” Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington said. “We just kept grinding and taking the same shots. Our guys started seeing the court better.”
The Eagles’ surge coincided with a scoring drought for Georgia State that lasted almost five minutes. It was broken by a Harrow free throw with 5:25 left that pulled the Panthers to within one, 43-42.
A Harrow jumper gave Georgia State a 44-43 lead, but Hughes answered with a 3-pointer and Jake Allsmiller added another to give the Eagles a 49-44 lead with 3:47 left.
“Mike Hughes made big plays all over the floor,” Byington said.
The teams exchanged baskets before R.J. Hunter hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut Georgia State’s gap to 51-49 with 1:43 left.
After being fouled by Hunter as he was going for a steal, Hughes hit two free throws to give the Eagles a four-point lead with 1:26 left.
“We have to rebound and we can’t turn the ball over,” Ron Hunter said.
