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2014-15 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2014-15 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2014-15 Sun Belt Conference Standings
Thrilling Finish Set as Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Title, Tournament Bids Up For Grabs
NEW ORLEANS – The parity in Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball this season has set the stage for a thrilling finish during the final week of conference play. The Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship is up for grabs as three teams are tied for first place: Georgia Southern (20-7, 13-5), Georgia State (20-9, 13-5) and UL Monroe (19-10, 13-5).
Four teams will battle for the remaining three spots in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship as UALR (13-16, 8-11), Arkansas State (11-16, 6-12), South Alabama (9-20, 7-11) and Texas State (13-14, 7-11) face must-win games to keep post-season hopes alive this week.
Numerous possibilities exist, based on Thursday night’s results, for teams to move up and down the standings. Key Thursday night games include a meeting between Georgia State and UL Monroe in Monroe, La., at 7 p.m. CT. It is the first meeting between two teams atop the Sun Belt standings since the Panthers dropped a 58-54 game at Georgia Southern on Feb. 5. Georgia Southern will look to keep pace with the winner of the GSU-ULM contest when it hosts UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday.
Following Thursday’s slate, the Eagles and Panthers must quickly prepare for their rematch in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament will be on the line if both of the in-state rivals enter Saturday’s contest coming off of wins.
The bottom of the bracket features four teams looking to stay alive in the race for three conference tournament bids. UALR, a team currently a half-game ahead of two teams vying for a spot, helped its cause by upsetting Georgia State last week. Sophomore forward Mareik Isom earned the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after he averaged 15.5 points per game and shot 78.6 percent from the floor, including 81.8 percent from 3-point range, last week.
Isom scored a career-best 17 points against Georgia State on Thursday night, connecting on 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 3-point attempts. He added a block and a steal in 19 minutes of work. The 6-foot-7 forward followed that performance with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting at UT Arlington in which he knocked down 4 of his 5 shots from beyond the arc. In all, Isom finished the two-game stretch shooting an incredible 9-of-11 from 3-point range. He is now shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range on the season and currently leads the Sun Belt Conference in the category.
UALR would earn a tournament bid with a victory on Thursday night at UL Lafayette (17-12, 11-7). Arkansas State is on the outside looking in with a 6-12 conference record but can stay alive when it hosts South Alabama at 7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday night. Texas State will look to keep pace when it travels to Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State on Thursday.
Other top performers last week included UL Lafayette sophomore Jay Wright. Wright tied his season high with 20 points to go with four assists and two steals in a 68-58 win over co-league leader Georgia Southern. The sophomore hit 7-for-14 for the game and went for 13 points in the first half, hitting three 3-point buckets, and added another in the second half to give him a season-high four 3-point buckets for the game. Appalachian State’s Frank Eaves averaged 21.5 points during the week and shot 50.0 percent from the floor (13-of-26). He scored 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, in a 66-43 win over first-place UL Monroe. His 28 points marked his 10th, 20-plus point performance of the season.
The Sun Belt Conference regular season wraps on Saturday with five games on the schedule. The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship begins on Mar. 12 at 5 p.m. CT. The championship game of the tournament is scheduled for a 12 p.m. CT tip on Selection Sunday, Mar. 15, from the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La.
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Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 14)
WEEK 14 SUN BELT CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mareik Isom (UALR, Sophomore, Guard)
Mareik Isom finished the most recent reporting week averaging 15.5 points per game while shooting 78.6 percent from the floor and 81.8 percent from 3-point range. Isom scored a career-best 17 points against Georgia State on Thursday night, connecting on 6 of 8 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 3-point attempts. He added a block and a steal in 19 minutes of work. The 6-7 forward followed that performance with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting at UT Arlington in which he knocked down 4 of his 5 shots from beyond the arc. In all, Isom finished the two-game stretch shooting an incredible 9 of 11 from 3-point range. He is now shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range on the season.
RECENT RESULTS
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Georgia Southern 77, Appalachian State 58
UL Monroe 75, South Alabama 57
UALR 92, Georgia State 83
Arkansas State 81, UT Arlington 80
Texas State 67, Troy 61
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Appalachian State 66, UL Monroe 43
Georgia State 75, Troy 64
Texas State , Arkansas State
UL Lafayette 68, Georgia Southern 58
UT Arlington 82, UALR 73
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Texas State at Appalachian State* 6:30 PM
UT Arlington at Georgia Southern* 6:30 PM
Georgia State at UL Monroe* 7:00 PM
UALR at UL Lafayette* 7:15 PM
South Alabama at Arkansas State* 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Georgia Southern at Georgia State* 1:00 PM
UT Arlington at Appalachian State* 2:30 PM
Texas State at UL Monroe* 4:00 PM
Troy at South Alabama* 4:05 PM
UL Lafayette at Arkansas State* 7:05 PM
MARCH 12-15 (Sun Belt Championship)
Thursday, March 12, 2015
No. 5 Seed vs. No. 8 Seed 5:00 PM (ESPN3)
No. 6 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed 7:30 PM (ESPN3)
Friday, March 13, 2015
No. 5/8 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed 5:00 PM (ESPN3)
No. 6/7 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed 7:30 PM (ESPN3)
Saturday, March 14, 2015
No. 4/5/8 Seed vs. No. 1 Seed 1:00 PM (ESPN3)
No. 3/6/7 Seed vs. No. 2 Seed 3:30 PM (ESPN3)
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Championship Game 12:00 PM (ESPN2)
* - Indicates Sun Belt Conference game
(All Times CT)
NEWS AND NOTES
APPALACHIAN STATE
Saturday’s game was the 200th game in Holmes Center history since the building opened in 2000
Appalachian State is now 132-68 all-time in the building and 76-52 in conference home games
UL Monroe’s 43 points marked the lowest total for any Appalachian opponent since Wofford scored just 40 on Jan. 8, 2013
The 23-point margin of victory was the Mountaineers’ largest against a Division I opponent since an 86-60 win over Chattanooga on March. 2, 2103
Frank Eaves eclipsed 20 poitns for the 10th time this season.
UALR
A win on Saturday would have clinched a spot for UALR (13-16, 8-11 SBC) in the Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans, La., but as it stands the Trojans still have work to do. A win Thursday at Louisiana would give UALR nine SBC victories and would guarantee it a spot in the tournament. Even in UALR does not win, a loss by Arkansas State in either of its games next week would put the Red Wolves at 13 losses and also assure UALR of a spot in the tournament.
UALR picked up its fifth win in six games with a 92-83 win over Georgia State on Senior Night. Georgia State came into the game having held each of its previous six opponents to fewer than 60 points and below 40 percent shooting from the floor. UALR started the game hot and never cooled, ending the night shooting 50.0 percent from the floor – 56.7 percent over the final 20 minutes – and scoring 92 points, its highest total in a regulation game against a Division I opponent since Dec. 2008.
As a team, UALR handed out a season-high 20 assists on 31 made field goals while committing just eight turnovers.
On Saturday, UALR clawed its way back from a 12-point first-half deficit to take a brief lead with 4:32 to play, but a strong finish by UT Arlington allowed the Mavericks to escape with an 82-73 win at College Park Center.
The Mavs shot better than 50.0 percent from the floor in the both halves, including 64.0 percent over the first 20 minutes, and ended the night shooting 58.0 percent. The Mavs held a 40-16 lead in points in the paint and a 15-5 edge in fast-break points.
The Trojans averaged 82.5 points on 47.9 percent shooting on the week, while putting five players in double figures against GSU and four in double figures at UTA. UALR has now finished each of the last four games with at least four players in double figures.
UALR made 27 3-pointers over both games, including a season-high 14 against Georgia State – its most in a single game since Jan. 2011. The Trojans shot 43.5 percent from 3-point range over the two games.
Mareik Isom and James Reid did the majority of the damage from long range, combining for 16 made 3s in the two games. Isom made 9 of 11 from deep, while Reid connected on 7 of 18 3-point attempts. J.T. Thomas added a 6-of-9 effort from 3 over the last two.
UALR’s final regular season game will be Thursday at Louisiana. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
ARKANSAS STATE
Arkansas State heads into the final week of the season playing two crucial games on the home floor. After a rough start on the home floor, A-State has won two-straight games over quality opponents at the Convocation Center. The Red Wolves downed ULM (Feb. 21) 70-68 and followed that up with an 81-80 defeat of UT Arlington (Feb. 26).
The Red Wolves dropped a 70-60 decision at Texas State in their last time out on the floor. A-State committed a season-high 21 turnovers that the Bobcats converted to a 32-6 edge in points off turnovers for the game.
Anthony Livingston posted his 14th double-double, grabbing 13 rebounds while scoring 20 points. For Livingston, it was his sixth game with 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds. With 14 double-doubles, Livingston has the most for an A-State player since Dan Henderson in the 1975-76 season.
Junior guard Frederic Dure continued to give A-State a spark, making his second and third consecutive starts last week. Dure was 10-for-22 (45 percent) from the floor and 7-for-13 (54 percent) from three-point range last week. As a starter (three games), Dure is 19-of-32 (59 percent) from the field and 10-of-17 (59 percent) from beyond the arc. Dure is averaging 17.6 points in his starts.
The Red Wolves are 11-4 this season when pulling down 35 or more rebounds. A-State sports a 10-3 record when opponents shoot 45 percent of below from the field. Further, A-State is 9-3 when opponents shoot below 45 percent in the second half alone.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Ga. Southern was the league’s first team to reach the 20-win mark as the program reached the plateau for the first time since 2005-06. It was the program’s 16th 20-win season in program history and the eighth in the Division I Era.
The Eagles enter the final two games of the regular season with a chance win the progam’s first regular season championship since 2005-06. That year the Eagles won the SoCon South Division with an 11-4 league mark under Head Coach Jeff Price. GS earned a spot in the NIT and lost to Charlotte in the first round.
Georgia Southern became the second league team to earn a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament. It marks the 18th straight season that the Eagles have qualified for their league tournament. The Eagles clinched a first round by with the win over App State. It is the Eagles’ first tournament bye since 2008 when the Eagles finished second in the SoCon South Division at 13-7 in league play. Overall, the Eagles have earned eight tournament byes entering the 2014-15 campaign.
Jelani Hewitt leads the Eagles with 18.2 points per game as he states his case for Sun Belt Player of the Year honors. Hewitt has set school records for career steals (245) and career free throws (373). He is one three-pointer shy of the school record for career three-pointers. He also ranks sixth in career scoring all-time at Georgia Southern with 1,756 career points. Hewitt also sits fifth among top scorers in the Division I era at Georgia Southern.
The Eagles have three 1,000 point career scorers on their roster with Jelani Hewitt, Eric Ferguson and Trent Wiedeman tallying 1,000+ points over their career. Hewitt has 1,756 career points while Ferguson has 1,446 points and Wiedeman has 1,210 points between his three years at College of Charleston and this season’s play at Georgia Southern.
The Eagles will travel 12,283 miles in the 30 games scheduled for the 2014-15 schedule. That total is just 168 miles less than halfway around the Earth. Georgia Southern’s farthest games away from home last season, played in Cancun (840 mi.), are closer than two of the Eagles’ opponents at Texas State (971 mi.) and UT Arlington (893 mi.). To date the Eagles have traveled 9,285 miles and travel for two games next week at Appalachian State and UL Lafayette which will cover 1,610 miles.
GEORGIA STATE
Georgia State enters the final week of the season controlling its own fate to repeat as Sun Belt champions. If the Panthers win their final two games, they will repeat as Sun Belt champions and earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in New Orleans.
Junior R.J. Hunter overtook Rodney Hamilton on Jan. 24 for the school’s all-time scoring mark of 1,515 points and now has 1,698 in his career.
Georgia State held six-straight opponents under 30 percent shooting, a streak that ended at UALR on Feb. 26. Opponents are shooting just 38.4 percent for the year again the Panthers, among the top 20 in the NCAA. According to Stats Inc., Georgia State is the first team in its database (since 1996-97) to record six-straight games of holding an opponent under 30 percent shooting. The only other team with a stretch of five is Kentucky this season.
Georgia State has recorded two of the three biggest margin of victories in program history this year. The Panthers scored a school-record 60-point win over Tennessee Temple in the season opener and then recorded a 44-point win over Appalachian State on Feb. 21.
R.J Hunter has been named a finalist for the 2015 Atlanta Sports Awards Collegiate Athlete of the Year presented by AT&T. The winner will be announced March 5.
R.J.Hunter made 30-straight free throws before a miss on Feb. 14 (Hunter has school-record of 38) and has been nearly perfect the last month, knocking down 65 of his last 67 attempts. He has currently made 25-straight.
Ryann Green was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award given to a student-athlete who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Ryan Harrow, who was named All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team, was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List as one of the top 40 mid-major players in the country.
Head coach Ron Hunter picked up his 350th career win on Jan. 29 at UT Arlington.
The Panthers were unanimously selected by the Sun Belt Conference head coaches to win the league once again this year. The Panthers are 13-5 in the league (tied for first place) and have won 30 of 36 conference games since returning to the Sun Belt.
Georgia State is 42-12 in its last 54 games, including a 41-10 mark in regular season games.
Georgia State’s 30-9 start is tied for the third-best 29-game start in program history.
Georgia State’s 18-game home-court winning streak, the second-longest in program history, came to an end against Texas State on Jan. 5. At the time, it was tied for the ninth-longest in the country. The Panthers went 13-0 at home during the 2013-14 season and are 11-1 in 2014-15.
Under head coach Ron Hunter, the Panthers are 46-11 in the GSU Sports Arena, a winning percentage of 80.7.
The Panthers have won 17 of their last 27 true road games dating back to last season.
Georgia State has been has high as No. 39 in the NCAA RPI this season. The Panthers played five non-conference games against teams ranked in the top 65.
R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow are combining to average 39.9 points per game, the second-most of any duo in the country. Both are ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring.
With 1,698 points, R.J. Hunter is the No. 1 active scorer in the NCAA of all third-year players and the only junior ranked in the top 40.
UL LAFAYETTE
Junior Shawn Long has totaled 50 double-doubles for his career, the most among active players in the NCAA
Long became just the 13th player in Ragin’ Cajuns basketball history to reach 1,500 points for his career in UL Lafayette’s home win over Appalachian State, and currently ranks ninth all-time at UL Lafayette in points scored
Long also moved past Dion Brown for third all-time at UL Lafayette in rebounding in the Cajuns’ loss at ULM
He became the second ever Ragin’ Cajun with 200 career blocked shots with two rejections in Saturday’s win over Georgia Southern
Long is one of two players in the country, along with McNeese State’s Desharick Guidry to average at least 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game
The Cajuns currently lead the SBC in scoring with 78.1 points per game and are seeking to become just the third program in SBC history to lead the league in scoring for three straight seasons
UL Lafayette is leading the SBC in attendance with an average of 4,009 fans per game, nearly double any other league institution and are in line to lead the league in attendance for the second time in history, the last time coming in 2011
The Cajuns hit 12 threes in Saturday’s win over Georgia Southern, their most since hitting 14 against Arkansas State on Jan. 22
Jay Wright tied a season high with 20 points and had a season high four threes in the win over the Eagles
The Cajuns held UT Arlington to just .172 shooting in the first half of its Feb. 21 win, its lowest opponent field-goal percentage for a half since Denver shot just .130 in the first half on Feb. 4, 2006
UL Lafayette’s win at Texas State is the first win this season for the Cajuns when they did not hold a lead with five minutes left to play in the game
Shawn Long tied a career high with six straight double-doubles vs ULM, a streak that was snapped the following game at Troy
UL Lafayette held Texas State to 42 points at the Cajundome, the lowest by a Cajun opponent this season
The Cajuns are allowing its opponents to shoot just .398 over its last four games.
UL MONROE
The Warhawks take on Georgia State on Thursday. They are 5-3 all-time against the Panthers, including 3-1 at home
ULM goes for its 11th 20-win season in school history and the first since 2001-02
The Warhawks have posted the most single-season SBC wins in school history with 13. The 19 wins overall are the most since 2001-02
At 13-5 in conference, ULM is in a three-way tie for first-place in the SBC standings with Georgia State and Georgia Southern. The Warhawks have clinched a first-round bye and a top-three seed at the SBC Championships
ULM is 11-2 at home this season and 401-171 (.701) all-time in Fant-Ewing Coliseum
The Warhawks won seven of their last nine games road games this season. It included a stretch of six road victories in a row, the most since 1993-94
ULM is one of five teams left in the nation to not allow 75 points in a single game this season. The list also includes Saint Peters, Utah, Baylor and New Hampshire
On the year, ULM has held opponents to under 60 points 13 times, including nine times in SBC play
ULM ranks 13th in the country in three-point field goal percentage defense (.292) and 16th in field goal percentage defense (.383). It also leads the conference in blocks with 4.4 per game
The Warhawks have already surpassed their conference win total from last season by six games and have also surpassed their overall win total by nine games when they finished 10-17 (7-11 SBC)
ULM finished 5-2 in February. The five wins were the most since 1999-2000. It wrapped up the month of January with an 8-2 record, its best January record since 2001-02
ULM is 16-0 on the season when it has at least three double-figure scorers and 9-0 when it shoots over 50 percent from the field
The Warhawks have swept four teams in conference this season, with the opportunity for a fifth on Saturday against Texas State. ULM completed the season-sweep over rival UL-Lafayette for the first time since 1971-72. The Warhawks also swept South Alabama, UALR and Troy. It was the second year in a row that ULM swept both South Alabama and UALR
Last Thursday, the Warhawks posted an 18-point win over the Jaguars, the largest win over USA in school history in 18 meetings. Junior Justin Roberson went off for 18 points on six made field goals, six free throws, five offensive rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block
Senior Tylor Ongwae leads the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg). He’s a three-time LSWA, two-time SBC and two-time CSM Player of the Week winner this season. Ongwae ranks second in the SBC in free throw percentage (.867). He has scored at least 20 points six times this year and 15 times in his career. Ongwae also has seven career double-doubles including four this season
Sophomore Nick Coppola leads the SBC in assist:turnover ratio (2.2) and is third in assists (4.0 apg). He’s played 40 minutes (or more) 12 times this season and 21 times in his career. He played six straight 40 minute games, a school record, breaking Maurice Bell’s string of five in a row in 1999-2000. Coppola scores 9.4 points per game on the year and is shooting a team-high .389 (44-113) from beyond-the-arc
Junior Majok Deng puts in 11.3 points per game in league action and is shooting .371 (23-62) from three-point range. He averages 1.6 blocks per game on the year, second-best in the SBC. Deng has posted five double-doubles on the year
Junior Justin Roberson has reached double-figures in scoring in four of the last five games. Last Thursday, he registered 18 points on six made field goals, six free throws, five offensive rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block against South Alabama
Ongwae was named to the Capital One Academic All-District First-Team, the only one from the Sun Belt Conference
SOUTH ALABAMA
South Alabama just finished a four-game swing against the top four teams in the Sun Belt (starting Feb. 14), going 1-3. The Jaguars defeated Texas-Arlington at home, but lost at Georgia State and Georgia Southern, and at home to Louisiana-Monroe.
The Jaguars are averaging 56.0 points in their last eight Sun Belt losses and 84.0 points in their SBC wins.
On Thursday, South Alabama allowed 38 points in the paint for the second consecutive outing and is permitting 39.0 in the last four games.
Freshman Taishaun Johnson, who entered Thursday’s game second in the conference with 163 free-throw attempts, went 0-for-1 at the line vs. ULM, his fewest attempts since Dec. 20 at IUPUI. He was averaging 13.0 attempts in his previous three outings.
Johnson is 12 points away from setting a new freshman school record with 391 points. He already holds the freshman marks for free throws (129) and free-throw attempts (164), and his current free-throw percentage (78.7%) is third.
Johnson is averaging 13.1 points per game, second among all Sun Belt freshmen.
Sophomore Ken Williams was the only Jaguar in double-digits against UL Monroe with a game-high 21, his ninth 20-point performance of the season. The rest of the team has three 20-point games combined.
After setting USA’s freshman 3-point record last season, Williams has also set the school’s sophomore record with 77, which ranks eighth in school history in a single season. He is second in the league in 3s per game with 2.7 and sixth in 3-point percentage (37.7).
Junior Barrington Stevens III has 93 assists this season, the most by a USA player since 2007-08. Stevens ranks eighth in the conference in assists (3.2) and third in assist/turnover ratio (2.0).
Senior Dionte Ferguson blocked two Warhawk shots to give him 43 on the season and his 1.5 per-game average is tied for second in the league. He needs two more rejections to move into USA’s top 10 for a single season. He has 13 games with multiple blocks in 2014-15.
Freshman Abdul Lewis had his three-game streak of double-digit rebound games snapped Thursday with six, but he still ranks in a tie for sixth in the conference and leads all SBC freshmen with 7.0 per game.
UT ARLINGTON
UTA finished the regular season 9-5 at home
UTA clinched at least a .500 record in conference for the fourth consecutive season
UTA is fifth in the SBC, one game behind Louisiana (11-7) with two games remaining. The fourth seed (UTA can’t get into the top three) receives a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
TEXAS STATE
Texas State had its best three-point shooting performance of the conference season against Troy in the first half, going 6-of-8.
The Bobcats shot 49 percent against Troy and 48 percent against Arkansas State. That marked the first time in league play the team has been 48 percent from the field or better in back-to-back games.
With its two wins on the week, the Bobcats moved into 7th place in the Sun Belt at 7-11. Texas State owns the tiebreaker over South Alabama by virtue of its season sweep.
Texas State had 10 steals on Saturday against Arkansas State. That is the first time since having 12 against South Alabama on Jan. 15. For the year, the Bobcats are third in the league and 62nd in the country with 7.3 steals per game.
TROY
Troy went 0-2 on the week, falling on the road to Texas State, 67-61, on Thursday night, and then to Sun Belt leader, Georgia State, 75-64.
Freshman Wesley Person claimed Troy’s Division I freshman scoring record against Georgia State, surpassing Robert Rushing’s 1999 record of 375 points. Person has accumulated 387 this season, with one game left to play.
At Strahan Coliseum, the Trojans pulled within three with 34.2 seconds to play, but was unable to take the final lead as it fell to the Bobcats. In the loss, Four Trojans earned double figures as Troy was led by John Walton III, who poured in a game-high 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half, as he shoot 6-of-9 from the floor. Kevin Thomas added 14 for the Trojans, shooting 6-of-10 on the night while reeling in a team-high eight rebounds, five on the offensive end of the court. Person tallied 13 points, shooting 6-of-14 on the night, 2-of-3 in the second half while Abdul-Aleem chipped in 11 points, in large thanks to his three treys on the night.
On Troy’s senior night, Abdul-Aleem, scored 12-straight points for the Trojans to close out the game on his way to a game-high 19 points, but couldn’t chip away at the Panthers’ lead. Person was the only other Trojan to score in double figures, as he poured in 12 points. Troy’s second senior, Thomas pulled down a team-high six rebounds and now has 227 rebounds this season, tied for the sixth most in a single season in Troy’s Division I history.
The loss to Georgia State officially eliminated the Trojans from the Sun Belt tournament contention.
Next week, Troy has a bye on Thursday, but returns to the court for its final game of the season on Saturday versus in-state rival, South Alabama.