Georgia State dispatches Louisiana to reach Sun Belt title

Mar 14, 2015, 06:45 pm

NEW ORLEANS -- R.J. Hunter had 32 points and eight steals and Georgia State beat Louisiana-Lafayette 83-79 on Saturday to advance to the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.

Georgia State lost in overtime against Louisiana in the 2014 SBC title game.

Top-seeded Georgia State (23-9) will play No. 2 seed Georgia Southern (22-8) on Sunday in a rematch of the regular-season championship game, which the Panthers won 72-55.

Georgia State's pressure defense caused problems for Lafayette. The Panthers forced 21 turnovers, 17 off of steals.

The Panthers ended the first half on a 19-6 run, capped by Isaiah Dennis' steal and coast-to-coast dunk just before the halftime buzzer for a 44-27 lead.

Fourth-seeded Louisiana (20-13) trailed by as many as 24 points, but pulled within 72-63 on Steven Wronkoski's reverse layup with 2:30 left. Georgia State responded with an 8-3 run and held on down the stretch.

Devonta Walker led the Ragin' Cajuns with 17 points.