The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Georgia State junior R.J. Hunter led the Panthers to a perfect 2-0 record and return to first-place in the conference standings to earn Sun Belt Player-of-the-Week honors as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.

Hunter averaged 25.0 points, 8.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game last week, turning the ball over just once. He shot 50 percent from the floor (16-of-32), 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from 3-point range and went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line.

Hunter and the Panthers have held their last six opponents under 30 percent shooting. According to Stats Inc., Georgia State’s streak is the longest in NCAA men’s basketball since the 1996-97 season when the number was first tracked. In fact, since the 1996-97 season, only one team has had a streak of four games or longer – Kentucky earlier this season had a streak of five games. Teams are now shooting 37.5 percent against Georgia State for the season, No. 6 in the NCAA.

The junior opened the week leading Georgia State to a 79-51 win over South Alabama, scoring 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting with four 3-pointers and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. He tied a career-high with eight assists, pulled down two rebounds and swiped two steals in 37 minutes.

On Saturday, he scored 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting in an 87-43 win over Appalachian State. He tied a career-high with eight assists for the second-straight game, knocking down three 3-pointers and swiping four steals. The 44-point win was the third-largest in school history.

For the season, Hunter is averaging 19.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, shooting 86.3 percent from the free throw line. He has made 63 of his last 65 attempts from the charity stripe.

He was also named Sun Belt Player of the Week on Monday by College Sports Madness.

This marks the second time that Hunter has earned conference honors this season. Earlier this month, teammate Ryan Harrow picked up his first conference award of the season.