UT Arlington holds off Weber State 63-56
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Johnny Hill scored 12 points and dished out six assists to lead Texas-Arlington to a 63-56 win over Weber State on Saturday.
Trailing 38-30 early in the second half, Texas-Arlington (4-4) halted a furious Weber State (3-4) rally with an 11-0 run sparked by Hill and capped by a 3-pointer from Kaelon Wilson with 9:01 to play to retake the lead, which it held and padded down the stretch.
Lonnie McClanahan contributed 10 points, while Wilson finished with nine points and seven rebounds for the Mavericks, who snapped a three-game skid with the win.
Weber State mounted a 27-0 second half rally fueled by a trio of 3-pointers from Jeremy Senglin and another from Chris Golden to briefly take the lead.
Senglin led the Wildcats with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Joel Bolomboy added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Golden finished with 11 points.
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Troy Rallies to beat Central Arkansas 85-73
TROY, Ala. (AP) Kevin Thomas scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Musa Abdul-Aleem added 19 points, and Troy rallied to beat winless Central Arkansas Saturday 85-73.
Oskars Reinfelds came off the bench to score 14 points and Wesley Person Jr. added 12 for the Trojans (3-3), who were outrebounded 30-26 but shot 59.2 percent from the field to the Bears' 45.8 percent.
Jordan Howard led Central Arkansas (0-8) with 21 points, Jake Zuilhof scored 16, and Boo Milligan added 12.
There were 13 lead changes and three ties in the first half until 1:23, when Troy led 39-37 on two free throws by Reinfelds. Howard hit a 3 and a layup for the Bears and Central Arkansas led 42-39 at halftime.
Abdul-Aleem hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Troy a 49-46 lead early in the second half and the Trojans pulled ahead to lead 79-67 after a 12-2 run capped by a layup by Thomas.
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UL Monroe beats Louisiana College 83-55
MONROE, La. (AP) Tylor Ongwae scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead UL Monroe past Division III Louisiana College 83-55 on Saturday.
Ongwae was 9 of 15 from the field to help UL Monroe (3-3) shoot 55.6 percent. The Warhawks held Louisiana College to 32.8 percent.
Majok Deng had 14 points, and Justin Roberson and Nick Coppola had 12 apiece for Monroe. Coppola had 12 assists - one less than Louisiana College's total.
Anthony Gaines Jr. was 8 of 18 from the field and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Louisiana College.
Monroe went on an 8-0 run to take a 26-10 lead and pushed it to 43-23 at halftime.
Louisiana College got as close as 62-48, but Ongwae scored the next six Monroe points to start a 12-3 run.
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Texas State rolls past Prairie View 81-65
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Emani Gant scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and tied a career-high with four assists to lead Texas State to an 81-65 victory over Prairie View on Saturday night.
Gant scored 12 points in the first half to help Texas State build a 38-31 halftime lead. Texas State led 65-49 with 7:19 to go before Prairie View cut the lead in half with an 8-0 run. The Bobcats answered right back with a 10-0 surge to make it 75-57 with 2:31 to play.
JaMarcus Weatherspoon scored 14 points and Wesley Davis added 12 for Texas State (5-1), which shot 29 of 48 from the field for 60.4 percent.
John Brisco had three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, and Tre Hagood chipped in 15 points with eight assists to lead Prairie View (1-8).
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Arkansas State rolls over Belhaven 95-68
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Sean Gardner scored 28 points with eight rebounds as Arkansas State beat NAIA Belhaven 95-68 in an exhibition game Saturday night.
Gardner hit 10 of 13 from the field and 8 of 9 from beyond the arc for the Red Wolves (2-2). Anthony Livingston added 19 points and nine rebounds and Cameron Golden had 18 points and seven assists.
The Red Wolves sank 50 percent from the field overall and 93.3 percent from the free throw line.
Arkansas State led throughout the first half but Belhaven pulled to within six, 24-18, on a Josh Carpenter layup with 7:52 to play before the Red Wolves opened a double-digit advantage to lead 38-26 at halftime.
In the second, the Red Wolves focused on 3-point attempts, sinking 8 of 15 from distance for the win.
De'la Mayers led the Blazers with 19 points. Carpenter added 16 points and six rebounds.
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Middle Tennessee edges South Alabama 68-67 in OT
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Jacquez Rozier scored 12 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 42 seconds left in overtime, lifting Middle Tennessee over South Alabama 68-67 on Saturday.
The Blue Raiders (4-4) were trailing late in regulation when Edward Simpson Jr. and Jaqawn Raymond each hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes to force overtime.
Ken Williams hit a 3-pointer in overtime for South Alabama (2-4), but Rozier responded with a split pair of free throws, then took the lead for good with a layup. Raymond hit two free throws for a 68-64 lead with 13 seconds left.
Taishaun Johnson drilled a 3 and was fouled, but couldn't convert the four-point play. Reggie Upshaw Jr. missed two free throws, and Johnson's half-court heave was off as time expired.
Raymond finished with 11 points and Upshaw had 10 for Middle Tennessee.
Abdul Lewis led the Jaguars with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
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Cowboys Hold Off Cajuns
LAKE CHARLES, La. – The McNeese State Cowboys closed out the first half on a 17-4 run and never surrendered the lead, knocking off the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 80-70 on Saturday at Burton Coliseum.
Shawn Long picked up his first double-double of the season for the Cajuns (3-4) with 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks; but the Cowboys (4-2) got a pair of double-doubles too, from Desharick Guidry (29 points, 16 rebounds) and Kevin Hardy (13 points, 11 rebounds) and out-rebounded UL 47-38 on the night.
The Cajuns got as close as two points with 13 minutes to play in the second half, but the Cowboys answered with an 11-1 run and had another answer each time UL got close the rest of the way in denying the Cajuns their first win in Lake Charles since 2004.
Brian Williams finished with 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting, and Kasey Shepherd had a career-high seven assists to go with three steals and seven points, including one of ULL's three triples on the night.
UL Lafayette owned the paint 52-38 on the night and had a season-low 14 turnovers – four in the second half – but finished 3-for-20 from beyond the three-point arc and 9-for-19 at the foul line. Conversely, the Cowboys rained in four triples and canned a season-high 24 free throws on a season-high 29 tries.
The Cajuns got scores from Long, Shepherd and Rimmer in racing out to an 8-0 lead to open the game before the Cowboys responded with a 10-2 run of their own to quickly tie things up.
The teams were near even for the majority of the half, with UL getting a three from Hayward Register and a jumper from Kasey Shepherd to hold a 27-24 lead with just over four minutes to play until the break. But Guidry answered on the next possession with a straightaway three and the Cowboys closed out the half's final four minutes on a 17-4 run to hold a 41-31 lead at the game's midway point.
UL Lafayette will now return home for a Wednesday meeting with in-state rival Louisiana Tech at the Cajundome.