GAME NOTES: The Georgia State Panthers seek their third win in a row as they clash with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the O'Rena on Wednesday night.

Since losing back-to-back games against Iowa State and Colorado State, both on the road, the Panthers have jumped back above the .500 mark thanks to a victory over Chicago State (69-46) on Monday and an 85-70 win against Western Carolina on a neutral floor yesterday as well.

Unfortunately for the Golden Grizzlies, the host team in this event, they've only broken even after two games, thanks to a 70-57 decision over Chicago State on Tuesday. Prior to that win, Oakland had opened the 2014-15 campaign with four straight defeats.

This is the first-ever meeting between these two schools on the basketball court.

More than anything else, the Panthers put themselves in a position to claim victory against Western Carolina by taking great care of the basketball and turning it over only six times. Then again, it certainly helped that R.J. Hunter scored a game-high 27 points, even though he shot a dismal 1-of-9 behind the 3-point line, followed by Ryan Harrow with 21 points and seven assists. Markus Crider checked in with another 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Hunter and Harrow have been the leading scorers in all five games to this point for the Panthers. Harrow, who is tops with 26 assists, accounts for 21.4 ppg on 50.6 percent shooting from the floor, while Hunter pitches in with another 20.8 ppg. However, both players have shown that they could use some extra practice at the free-throw line where they are converting 65.4 percent of their opportunities. As a team, GSU is hitting free-throws at a 64.2 percent clip, compared to 73.3 percent for the competition.

After shooting 51.9 percent from the field in the first half against Chicago State, the Grizzlies managed to make good on only nine field goals in the second half, yet still pulled away for the double-digit victory. Oakland, which led by as many as 17 points in the meeting, was led by Corey Petros with 19 points, followed by reserve Dante Williams with 13. Tommie McCune registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Kahlil Felder chipped in 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, although he also shot just 2-of-10 from the field.

Felder is just a 33.3 percent shooter from the field at the moment, but he is still a key ingredient for Oakland no matter how poorly he is shooting the ball. In fact,. Felder not only paces the program with 17.6 ppg, he is also first with 40 assists and 13 steals and is among the leaders with 5.2 rpg. McCune (16.0 ppg) and his 59.5 percent accuracy helps to offset Felder's lackluster shot selections, but there is still more work to be done for this group.

Surrendering 81.8 ppg is no way to stay competitive with talented opponents, which is why Oakland has but one win to this point. If the defense again lets down against the Panthers, expect the visitors to run away with a victory.