Playing tired and playing without Ryan Harrow, Georgia State found a way to snap its two-game losing streak.
R.J. Hunter scored a season-high 37 points, and the Panthers overcame 13 3-pointers by Troy to pull out a 77-72 win on Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena. The Trojans (6-7, 1-3) were held to four points in the final 3 minutes, 18 seconds of the game.
“My guys are tired,” coach Ron Hunter said of his team, which was playing its fourth game in a week. “This is crazy. This is college kids playing an NBA schedule. This was gut-check time. This was a game we had to win.”
Georgia State (10-6, 3-2 Sun Belt) was forced to play without Harrow, the team’s second-leading scorer. Harrow, who was averaging 19.9 points per game and scored 25 in the previous game to Louisiana-Lafayette, has been dealing with two sprained toes. Hunter said Harrow could have played had the game been on Sunday and should return for Thursday’s game against Texas-Arlington. It was Harrow’s first missed game for the Panthers since he transferred from Kentucky before the 2013-14 season.
“He’s a big part of what we do,” Hunter said. “He’s a weird guy to miss because he does so much with the ball.”
Ron Hunter said he prayed before the game, looking for a way to replace half of the points Harrow would normally provide. He thought the points might come from forwards T.J. Shipes or Curtis Washington.
Hunter didn’t think it would be guard Isaiah Dennis, who scored a career-high nine points, including a crucial layup that gave the Panthers a three-point lead with 1:33 left.
During the game, as Hunter was looking for a spark, those on the bench told him to put in “Isaiah.”
Hunter’s response, which he said he shouldn’t have said, was “Isaiah who?” because there are two Isaiahs on the teams.
It seemed Isaiah Dennis, who missed last season with a foot injury, and not Isaiah Williams, who is sitting out as a transfer, was the answer.
“I really liked his poise,” Hunter said. “I’m happy for him. You persevere and haven’t played in two years. Most kids would quit and leave. That’s the nature of our society. But he gutted it out and is getting his opportunity now.”
After Dennis’ layup, which was preceded earlier in the half by a dunk off an offensive rebound, R.J. Hunter iced the game with six free throws. He made a career-high 15 of a career-high 17 attempts from the line.
“I’m exhausted,” Hunter said. He finished with five assists and four rebounds. He has scored 64 points in the past two games after scoring 24 in the previous two. “But I like being this tired. It means you are doing something right.”
Ron Hunter, naturally, was impressed by his son’s performance.
“He wasn’t going to stay in that slump forever,” Hunter said. “He’s a rhythm player, and when he gets into a rhythm, it’s lights out. He knew he had to do a little extra because he knew Ryan wasn’t going to play.”
Georgia State needed almost every point because Musa Abdul-Aleem and Wesley Person combined to make 12 3-pointers. Abdul-Aleem, an Atlanta native, scored 33 points.
“Those are good guards,” Hunter said. “They are all-league kind of guys.”
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