Georgia State continued to play its challenging matchup zone Thursday night with energy and option-limiting ferocity. The results were predictable.
Forcing a barrel of turnovers and limiting chances for easy scoring opportunities, the Panthers won in a rout, defeating South Alabama 79-51 at the GSU Sports Arena.
Georgia State (18-8 overall, 11-4 Sun Belt Conference) won for the seventh time in the past eight games. South Alabama (9-18, 7-9) extended its losing streak to the Panthers to five games.
Georgia State held the Jaguars to 29.3 percent shooting from the field. It was the fifth consecutive game that the Panthers have held their opponent to less than 30 percent shooting.
“I’ve been doing this 23 years,” Georgia State coach Ron Hunter said. “This is the best defensive team I’ve had, and the numbers are proving it.”
South Alabama was unable to solve the Panthers’ defense frequently. Shots from the perimeter were challenged. The Jaguars were likewise unable to find gaps for shots in the paint. Fast-break opportunities were also hard to come by. South Alabama, which thrives in transition, was credited with four fast-break points.
“We talk about transition defense, because if you cannot score in transition, and you can’t score on free throws, we know it’s going to be very difficult for you to score in half-court,” Hunter said.
Georgia State forced 17 turnovers. Forward Jordan Session had three steals, a career high for the freshman. He also had a career high in scoring, with 11 points off the bench.
The Panthers turned the ball over just five times, a season low. Such effective stewardship of the ball enabled Georgia State to take 59 shots to 41 for South Alabama, more than enough of an advantage for the Sun Belt’s leader in field-goal percentage. Guard R.J. Hunter buried South Alabama under 28 points, including 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, and burned the Jaguars’ double-team attempts with eight assists, tying his career high.
“I kind of put my teammates in tough positions by trying to thread the needle every time, but I thought they made great catches,” R.J. Hunter said. “It’s just making that right pass and that extra pass that can lead to a basket.”
The Panthers put South Alabama in a hole early, taking a 14-5 lead less than six minutes into the game and 24-8 at the 9:49 mark of the first half. Hunter led the barrage, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 20-7. He then hit guard Isaiah Dennis with an alley-oop pass from near half-court for another basket. He finished the half with 16 points, helping generate a 36-28 lead at halftime.
Early in the second half, Georgia State pieced together an 8-0 run to expand a 41-32 lead to 49-32 with 14:47 remaining. Forward Markus Crider scored six of the points, part of a 14-point second half. Crider’s 21 points were a career high and a big lift in the absence of forward Ryan Harrow, who missed his third consecutive game with concussion symptoms.
After the Crider-fueled run, the Jaguars didn’t get closer than 13 the rest of the way.
The win, combined with Georgia Southern’s loss Thursday night to Troy, put the Panthers in a tie for second in the league with the Eagles, one game behind first-place Louisiana-Monroe. Georgia State has five games remaining in the league schedule. The Panthers will close the regular season with games at Louisiana-Monroe and home against Georgia Southern.
“This team defensively can really, really turn in on,” Ron Hunter said. “That’s what I really like. That’s why I can’t wait to get to the tournament because your defense, you can travel with that. We don’t have to make shots go in. Our defense can win games for us.”
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