GSU handles Western Carolina

When Georgia State’s basketball team is going well, R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow are usually at the forefront, as was the case on Tuesday.

Hunter scored 27 points and Harrow added 21 as the Panthers defeated Western Carolina 85-70 Tuesday in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

It was a back-and-forth second half and the game was tied until Kevin Ware, a Rockdale High School graduate, hit a pair of free throws to put GSU ahead 66-64 with 5:48 left in the second half. The Panthers led for the remainder of the day as Hunter converted a pair of lay ups and Harrow added one of his own and the Atlanta school led 72-64 with 4:16 to play. Ware, who finished the game with three steals, checked back into the game at the 14:31 mark and GSU’s defense held Western Carolina to just five made field goals over the final 14 1/2 minutes.

“I thought when we re-entered Kevin Ware back in the game our defense settled down and we were able to get stops,” said GSU coach Ron Hunter. “When we do that we’re really, really good. It was a good test, (Western Carolina) gave Alabama all they can handle, Mississippi State all they can handle. It was one of those tough, gutted-out games and I really like how we finished this game. I’m really really happy about this win.”

Hunter, who moved into the eighth place on the school’s career scoring list, hit a jumper with three seconds to play in the first half that sent Georgia State into the locker room up 39-35. That capped an opening 20 minutes where GSU led by as many as 23-16 on a 3-pointer by Ryann Green with 9:11 to play, though Western Carolina responded with a 9-0 run and led 25-23 after Mike Brown’s four-point play at the 6:34 mark.

Torrion Brummit’s lay up gave the Catamounts a 27-25 advantage with about five minutes left in the first, but GSU led the rest of the half after Harrow knocked down a three about a half-minute later.

Rhett Harrelson had 21 points and Brummitt added 15 for Western Carolina.

Starting forward Markus Crider scored 15 points and reserve post player T.J. Shipes added eight points and eight rebounds for the Panthers. Crider reached a new career high a day later with 17 points as GSU closed play in the Hall of Fame Classic with a 83-78 victory over Oakland. Hunter scored 29 points and Ware added a season-high 15 points to lead GSU to its third consecutive triumph.