As East Carolina improved its record to 5-0, they brought Georgia State men’s victory percentage down to 50 percent by beating them 62-53 at the Sports Arena on Monday, Nov. 26.
East Carolina started the game with an eight to nothing run. Georgia State would come back and trim the lead down to two, but East Carolina would extend their advantage back out to 11 by the end of the first half.
The Panthers had difficulties since they did not make a single three-point shot in the first half and was outrebounded offensively 11 to two.
Maurice Kemp had seven for East Carolina while Devonta White had six for Georgia State.In the second half, East Carolina kept dominating in rebounds. The biggest contribution on the board came from Robert Sampson. 10 of his 16 rebounds came in the second half, while he added 12 total points.
Kemp also finished with double-doubles as he had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
For Georgia State, Manny Atkins and Devonta White would finish the game with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
For the team and head coach Ron Hunter, it would be a reminder that, while talented, he is still at the helm of a young basketball team.
“One thing that my team’s not ready for in this early stage is tough, older, experienced teams. We’re not ready for that yet,” Hunter said. “These are growing pains that a young team has to go through, especially when they’ve had success. The hardest thing for young people to do is to handle success.”
Two Georgia State players who didn’t play their best games were R.J. Hunter and James Vincent. Hunter only had seven points and shot three for nine from the field. Vincent didn’t score any points and only had two rebounds.
“If James doesn’t play hard, everything that we do is about playing hard. It was just like the BYU game,” Hunter said. “He knows that and I hope he can come up with a better effort.”
Georgia State’s next game will be Friday, Nov. 30 at the Sports Arena versus Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m.
