Georgia State beats Georgia Southern to win Sun Belt title, NCAA tournament bid

New Orleans, LA - R.J. Hunter made two free throws with 21.6 seconds remaining to lift Georgia State to a 38-36 win over Georgia Southern in Sunday's Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game.

Hunter, averaging 20.1 points per game, finished with nine in the low-scoring final.

Kevin Ware was the only player to reach double figures in points, finishing with 18 for top-seeded Georgia State (24-9), which earned its third NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2001.

The Panthers lost in overtime to Louisiana-Lafayette in last year's title game.

Trent Wiedeman and Jelani Hewitt each had eight points for the second-seeded Eagles (22-9), who were held to 22.9 percent shooting.