Ongwae's Steal Seals UL Monroe's win over UL Lafayette
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Tylor Ongwae stole a floor-length pass, then hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1.2 seconds left to help UL Monroe hold off in-state rival UL Lafayette 57-55 on Monday night for its sixth straight win.
UL Lafayette made eight straight free throws, during an 8-4 run, to cut its deficit to 56-55 with 38 seconds left. UL-Monroe's Justin Roberson missed the first of a one-and-one opportunity with 2.8 left and Ongwae intercepted a long pass to seal it.
Ongwae finished with 13 points for UL Monroe (12-6, 6-1 Sun Belt). Roberson had eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
UL Lafayette (10-8, 4-3) lost back-to-back home games after winning 12 straight at home.
Shawn Long scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three blocks for UL Lafayette. Devonta Walker added 15 points and also had nine rebounds. The Ragin' Cajuns converted 17 of 18 free throws, but were just 2 of 18 from distance.
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Hunter, Georgia State beat Arkansas State 60-54
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) R.J. Hunter scored 14 of his 23 points in the final 5:30, and grabbed eight rebounds, to lead Georgia State to a 60-54 win over Arkansas State on Monday night.
Kevin Ware added 10 points and Markus Crider had 10 rebounds for Georgia State (12-7, 5-3 Sun Belt), which was without Ryan Harrow - the team's leading scorer (20.4 per game) - who was suspended by the university.
Anthony Livingston made a pair of free throws with to pull Arkansas State (8-9, 3-5) within one 33 seconds left.
Hunter answered with two free throws to make it 57-54 and, after Cameron Golden missed a 3 on the other end, Crider made 1 of 2 from the stripe, pushing the Georgia State lead to four with 20 seconds remaining.
Arkansas State missed another 3 before Hunter made two free throws to seal it.
Anthony Livingston had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Arkansas State, which shot just 29.8 percent. Sean Gardner added 19 points.
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UT Arlington outlasts Texas State 66-55
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Greg Gainey scored 12 points, including five in a critical juncture late, and UT Arlington beat Texas State 66-55 on Monday.
Gainey's 3-pointer with 2:58 left put Texas-Arlington up 55-53. Texas State's Emani Gant made 1 of 2 from the line to pull within one. But next trip down, Gainey grabbed an offensive board and his follow-up put UTA up by three. Johnny Hill's layup extended the lead to five at 59-54 with 1:14 left and Texas State managed just one more made free throw.
UT Arlington (10-7, 4-3 Sun Belt) led 30-28 at the break. Lonnie McClanahan had 11 points and six boards.
Gant led Texas State (10-7, 4-4) with 13 points. D.J. Brown had 10 points and JaMarcus Witherspoon added eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Bobcats shot just 30 percent from the floor.
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Williams lifts South Alabama past UALR, 66-64
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Ken Williams knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds left to lift South Alabama to a 66-64 victory over UALR in a Sun Belt Conference matchup Monday night.
The Jaguars (6-12, 4-4) led 58-48 midway through the second half, but UALR sandwiched a Roger Woods dunk and layup around a Josh Hagins layup to cut the lead to four points at 58-54 with 8:17 left.
Hagins hit two free throws with 15 seconds left to tie the game.
Williams finished with 20 points to lead South Alabama, converting 7 of 11 from the free throw line. Dionte Ferguson added 15 points.
The Jaguars shot 44.7 percent from the field
Hagins finished with 23 points to lead the Trojans (6-11, 1-6). Woods added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
South Alabama won by three, 72-69, in the first meeting between the teams Jan. 5.
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Appalachian State holds off Troy 69-64
TROY, Ala. (AP) Frank Eaves sank six 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points to lead Appalachian State to a 69-64 win over Troy on Monday night.
Eaves, coming off a 27-point performance Saturday against Georgia State, continued his hot shooting by going 8 of 16 from the floor and 7 of 9 from the line. Tommy Spagnolo added 10 points for Appalachian State (6-10, 3-4 Sun Belt).
The Mountaineers trailed by five at the break but edged into a 41-40 lead with a bucket from Landon Goesling, who padded the advantage with a three-point play with 13:17 remaining.
Troy (7-9, 2-5) stayed close - tying it at 51, 54, 56 and 59 - but couldn't overtake Appalachian State. Griffin Kinney put the Mountaineers back in front for good with a layup with 4:24 to go.
Wesley Person Jr. led Troy with 15 points, while Kevin Thomas had 13 and Musa Abdul-Aleem 11.