Georgia State upsets No. 3 Baylor with 57-56 win

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10 years ago

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears guard Kenny Chery (1) reacts after suffering an injury against the Georgia State Panthers in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers forward Markus Crider (33) controls the ball as Baylor Bears guard Lester Medford (11) pressures him in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) shoots the winning three point shot against the Baylor Bears with 2.8 seconds left in the second half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Georgia State defeated the Baylor Bears, 57-56. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears guard Kenny Chery (1) pressures Georgia State Panthers forward Markus Crider (33) in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears forward Taurean Prince (21) shoots against Georgia State Panthers forward T.J. Shipes (31) in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears forward Rico Gathers (2) grabs a loose ball as Georgia State Panthers forward Markus Crider (33) defends in the second half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) pats teammate guard Isaiah Dennis (4) on the head following a play against the Baylor Bears in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears forward Johnathan Motley (35) looks to pass between the defense of Georgia State Panthers guard Ryann Green (2) and Panthers forward Markus Crider (33) in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers head coach Ron Hunter directs his team against the Baylor Bears in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears forward Rico Gathers (2) defends against Georgia State Panthers forward Markus Crider (33) in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Baylor Bears forward Royce O’Neale (00) tries to dribble around the defense of Georgia State Panthers guard Kevin Ware (0) in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Georgia State 57, Baylor 56: R.J. Hunter capped a 13-0 run with a long 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left as the 14th-seed Panthers stormed back to shock the Bears in NCAA Tournament round of 64 play in Jacksonville, Fla.

Hunter, who missed seven of his first eight shots, scored 12 points as Georgia State (25-9) rallied from a 56-44 deficit with under three minutes remaining. Hunter scored 16 points overall, Ryann Green added 11 points and Markus Crider scored 10 points as the Panthers advance to face either sixth-seed Xavier or 11th-seed Ole Miss in Saturday’s round of 32.

Taurean Prince scored 18 points with 15 rebounds for the third-seed Bears (24-10), who outrebounded the Panthers 40-23. Rico Gathers scored nine points with 10 rebounds and Royce O’Neale finished with nine points and eight rebounds, but the Bears committed 21 turnovers and did not score in the final 2:50.

Baylor — which committed nine turnovers in the opening 10 minutes of the second half — used four points from Prince and 3-pointers from O’Neale and Lester Medford extended Baylor’s advantage to 52-42 with 6:30 to play. Hunter scored nine consecutive points and Isaiah Dennis hit a free throw to bring Georgia State within 56-54.

The Panthers fouled Kenny Chery with 14 seconds left, but the 83.1 percent free-throw shooter missed the front end of a one-and-one. T.J. Shipes secured the rebound and Hunter drained just his second 3-pointer of the day to put the Panthers ahead, and Prince’s desperation heave missed the mark.

GAME NOTEBOOK: O’Neale hit two early 3-pointers as Baylor took a 16-6 lead six minutes in but the Panthers rallied, hitting 10 of their final 14 shots in the opening half. … Georgia State G Ryan Harrow, second on the team in scoring at 18.7 points, did not play due to a hamstring injury. … The Panthers recorded the second NCAA Tournament victory in program history, the first coming against Wisconsin in 2001.