Saturday afternoon at the Sports Arena was all Panthers as Georgia State men’s basketball scored an emphatic 87-43 win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The win improves Georgia State’s record to 19-8 and 12-4 in the Sun Belt.
“I’m really happy with the way we started the game defensively,” Head coach Ron Hunter said after the game. “These guys have bought in and they’re flying around. We were pumped for this game because we know what happened last time [when the Mountaineers defeated the Panthers in Boone, North Carolina, 74-69]. Great defensive effort.”
The Panthers’ leading scorer was R.J. Hunter who had 22 points. Ryan Harrow also placed in 20 in his first game back from concussion-like symptoms. Markus Crider also had 14 points and eight rebounds. Georgia State also held the Mountaineers to under 30 percent shooting.
First Half
Georgia State started off fast with a 6-0 run with two points each from Hunter, Crider and Harrow.
A layup from senior App State forward Tommy Spagnolo accounted for the Mountaineers’ first pair of points of the game before the Panthers received a three from Harrow, extending the Georgia State lead to 9-2.
Shortly after a three-pointer from junior Mountaineers guard Frank Eaves, Georgia State embarked on an 8-0 run that saw four points from T.J. Shipes along with two more each from Hunter, Harrow and Crider. The Panthers’ lead increased to 17-5, prompting an App State timeout.
Dustin Clarke, an Appalachian State junior guard, later made a three, drawing the Mountaineers within nine at 17-8. Georgia State later engineered a 10-0 run with three from Hunter, two each from Harrow, Crider and Curtis Washington along with a made free throw by Jordan Session, expanding the Panthers’ lead to 27-8.
The Panthers maintained their 19-point lead with scores of 30-11 and 32-13. Georgia State closed the half with a 12-0 scoring streak with five by Harrow, four from Crider and three by Isaiah Dennis, producing a 44-13 lead at halftime.
Second Half
Eaves began the half with a three, making the score 44-16 before a layup from Hunter made it a 30-point game at 46-16. The score became 46-18 after a jumper from Spagnolo.
Georgia State maintained a 28-point lead with scores of 48-20, 50-22 and 53-25. A 8-0 Panthers run with two each from Harrow, Crider, Washington and Kevin Ware placed the game further out of reach for the Mountaineers, increasing the Panthers’ lead to 61-25.
Appalachian State would go on a 6-0 run of their own with three each from freshman forward Griffin Kinney and sophomore forward Mike Kobani, drawing the Mountaineers within 61-30. A pair of made free throws from Hunter after a foul by freshman App State guard Logan Jackson plus a Dennis layup increased the Panthers’ lead to 65-30.
With the score at 67-32, Kobani made a pair of free throws after a foul by Shipes, producing a score of 67-34. Four more from Harrow along with three from Hunter and two by Session made it a 78-34 game.
Freshman Mountaineers guard Landon Goesling did make one free throw after a foul by Dennis, making the score 78-35.
With the score at 80-37, Georgia State recieved five points from Jalen Brown and two more by Dennis, increasing the Panthers’ advantage to 87-37, prompting another Mountaineers timeout.
Out of the timeout, Goesling made another three, producing an 87-40 score.
A layup by freshman Mountaineers guard Jalen Sanders and a free throw by Goesling after a foul by Dennis accounted for the last points of the game. Georgia State earned a blowout 87-43 win at the Sports Arena.
The Panthers will take the court Thursday on the road at 8:30 p.m. vs. the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR).
| Georgia State | Appalachian State |
|---|---|
| Hunter: 22 points, 7-13 shooting | Harrow: 20 points, 7-9 shooting |
| Kobani: 7points | Goesling: 7 points |
