Whether Ron Hunter is wearing shoes or coaching in his bare feet, Georgia State can’t lose.
With Hunter going without shoes or socks as he does once a year for the charity Samaritan’s Feet, the Panthers drilled Arkansas-Little Rock 99-73 on Saturday in the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers have won nine consecutive games and are two away from tying the school record set during the 2011-12 season. They will have a chance to reach that mark with games at Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday and at Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.
R.J. Hunter scored 25 points, hitting 6-of-10 3-pointers, to lead Georgia State, which remains the only unbeaten team (12-6, 5-0) in the Sun Belt. Manny Atkins added 22 points as all five starters scored at least 11 points each. The Panthers improved to 7-0 at home this year and 3-0 in the “Barefoot for Bare Feet” games.
The game seemed likely to be more competitive. The Panthers struggled to knock off Arkansas State on Thursday and Arkansas-Little Rock (9-9, 4-2) came in as the conference’s second-place team.
But Georgia State jumped out to an 11-0 lead on two Curtis Washington dunks and two free throws by Hunter after a technical against UALR coach Steve Shields, who thought Washington should have been called for basket interference on his first dunk. That was followed by a 3-pointer by Atkins and another layup by Washington.
The Panthers closed the first half with a 10-0 run that featured two layups and a 3-pointer by Atkins, and another 3-pointer by Hunter, to take a 59-29 lead. It was Georgia State’s most points in a half since scoring 68 against Norfolk State in on Feb. 10, 1998.
Things kept going well for Georgia State and poorly for Arkansas-Little Rock.
Not that the Trojans had much hope, but Hunter hit four consecutive 3-pointers in the second half to push Georgia State’s lead 78-52 with less than 12 minutes remaining.
About the Author
