Ron Hunter said in November that he hoped his Georgia State team would play its best basketball in February.
After Saturday’s 82-71 victory over Texas San Antonio, Hunter said they are close.
“I think there could be a big surprise in Richmond,” he said, referring to the site of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
The victory was Georgia State’s 19th this season and 12th at the GSU Sports Arena, tying for the second-most in program history. The Panthers will host Old Dominion on Wednesday in a game that’s important for several reasons: GSU can keep alive its hopes of earning the fourth seed, which comes with a bye, in the upcoming tournament, and it can reach its goal of 20 wins.
“Nineteen. We are one win away from a goal that no one thought we could get,” Hunter said.
The improvement can be traced to the Panthers’ increasing efficiency in the half-court sets, with Rashaad Richardson and Devonta White benefitting. The duo tied for game-high honors with 16 points each. They combined to make 12 of 18 shots, including six of 11 3-pointers. The Panthers shot 56.9 percent, their highest total since hitting 62.1 percent against Georgia Southern in December 2009.
White has scored in double figures in five consecutive games and Richardson in four of the past six, including the past two. The Panthers are 6-1 when Richardson scores in double figures this season.
“Rashaad opened the door for us with shots in back-to-back games,” Hunter said. “We’re just trying to get him to 10 points and get him the heck out of the game.”
The Panthers quickly opened a 15-point lead in the first half behind the shooting and defense of substitutes Tony Kimbro Jr. and Richardson.
Kimbro had a hand in eight points, including a 3-pointer, a deflection that led to a three-point play by James Fields and a steal and dunk that gave the Panthers a 12-5 lead.
Richardson added three 3-pointers, each from the right wing, to push the Panthers’ advantage to 37-22. He finished with 11 points in the half. He scored 12 in the first half against James Madison earlier in the week.
“Coach is always talking about playing with a purpose,” Richardson said.
But the Panthers allowed the Roadrunners to hang around. Behind point guard Michael Hale’s three 3-pointers, UTSA cut the gap 45-38 by halftime. The points were the most in either half by the Panthers since scoring 48 against North Carolina Wilmington on Jan. 12, and the most in the first half since scoring 46 against Rhode Island on Dec. 10.
Richardson stayed hot in the second half, making another 3-pointer to give Georgia State a 17-point lead, its largest to that point, with 13:01 remaining.
But again the Panthers failed to put away their opponent.
The Roadrunners cut the GSU lead to nine on a layup by Igor Nujic with 8:46 remaining before the Panthers stretched it in the final minutes.
That inability to put away teams is one of the bigger areas of needed improvement as the regular season winds down.
“There’s a lot of stuff we have been able to overcome, but that’s not one,” Hunter said. “You have to learn how to win. We tend to relax when we get big leads.”
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