UT Arlington holds off UL Monroe 61-57
MONROE, La. (AP) Drew Charles scored 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to lift UT Arlington to a 61-57 win over Sun Belt Conference leader UL Monroe on Thursday night.
Lonnie McClanahan contributed 11 points and Johnny Hill added nine for UTA (11-7, 5-3) to avenge a Jan. 8 overtime loss to the Warhawks.
Trailing by three early in the first half, UTA took the lead for good during a 9-0 run capped by Charles' layup that made it 22-16 with 5:34 left before the break. The Mavericks took a 34-24 advantage into the intermission then held off a Warhawks surge that tightened the score 59-57 with 38 second left. Hill clinched the win with a pair of free throws.
Marvin Williams led UL Monroe (12-7, 6-2) with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Majok Deng added 10 points.
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Georgia Southern earns sweep of Texas State, 45-43
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Mike Hughes got to the basket for a game-winning layup with 1:39 left as Georgia Southern held off Texas State for a 45-43 Sun Belt Conference victory Thursday night.
Georgia Southern (12-4, 5-2 Sun Belt) beat Texas State 40-36 in their first meeting, January 3.
Georgia Southern converted just 16 of 48 from the field (33.3 percent), but knocked down 5 of 22 shots from beyond the arc. Texas State shot 17 of 53 from the floor, but just 1 of 11 from distance.
Jalani Hewitt converted 3 of 9 from long range and scored 14 points to lead the Eagles, who got another 12 points from Trent Wiedeman. Hewitt's total gives him 1,586 career points, moving him into ninth place all-time.
JaMarcus Weatherspoon had 15 points to lead Texas State (10-8, 4-5). Cameron Naylor added 12 points and Emani Gant added 11 points and eight rebounds.
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UL Lafayette routs Arkansas State 96-59
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Shawn Long drained five 3-pointers and scored 27 points to lead UL Lafayette to a 96-59 rout of Arkansas State on Thursday night.
Long shot 10 of 11 from the floor and didn't miss from long range. Hayward Register added 19 points for UL Lafayette (11-8, 5-3 Sun Belt Conference), which shot 32 of 58 from the field for 55.2 percent, and held a 41-29 rebounding edge.
Long scored 21 points in the first half as the Ragin' Cajuns built a 51-28 lead at intermission and never trailed in the game.
The Ragin' Cajuns bounced back from their 57-55 loss to Sun Belt Conference leader UL Monroe, 57-55 on Jan. 19, to snap their three-game losing skid.
P.J. Hardwick scored 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting for the Red Wolves (8-10, 3-6), and was the only Arkansas State player to reach double figures.
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Appalachian State gets past South Alabama 64-53
BOONE, N.C. (AP) Tommy Spagnolo and Frank Eaves scored 15 points apiece to lead Appalachian State to a 64-53 win over South Alabama on Thursday night.
Spagnolo shot 7 of 12 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season. The Mountaineers (7-10, 4-4 Sun Belt) shot 25 of 61 from the field (41 percent) and controlled the boards 41-30 to avenge a Jan. 8 loss to South Alabama and extend their win streak to three.
In a close contest that featured eight lead changes and six ties, Appalachian State took control midway through the second half with a 23-7 run capped by Jake Babic's 3-pointer that made it 58-43 with 6:28 to go. The margin remained at double figures the rest of the way.
Ken Williams led South Alabama (6-13, 4-5) with 16 points and six rebounds. The Jaguars total points tied a season low.
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Strong Start to Second Half Carries UALR to 73-65 Win over Troy
LITTLE ROCK – Trailing Troy (7-10, 2-6 SBC) 34-25 at halftime, UALR (7-11, 2-6 SBC) opened the second half by scoring the first 15 points as part of a 20-2 run to build a lead it would never relinquish en route to a 73-65 victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
“I’m really proud of our guys and their effort, especially in the second half,” head coach Steve Shields said following the win. “I thought the first four minutes of the second half were very important to the outcome of the game. That’s a very good team – well coached. Phil (Cunningham) does a phenomenal job.”
Starting his third game of the season, Josh Hagins totaled 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in 25 minutes. After scoring just four points in 11 first-half minutes, Hagins exploded for 18 points after intermission. The line gives Hagins his seventh career game with at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Roger Woods also contributed one of his best all-around performances of the season. Woods posted his second double-double since the start of SBC play, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a blocked shot.
Ben Dillard scored 10 of his 13 points after halftime to give UALR three players in double figures. Dillard hit two of his three triples as a part of the Trojans’ spurt to start the second half.
UALR played one of its best offensive halves of the season over the final 20 minutes. As a team, the Trojans shot 54.8 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from 3 while hitting 8 of 14 free throws in the second half.
UALR was +5 on the glass in the second half to finish the game with 38-36 rebounding edge.
During its 20-2 run to start the second half, UALR hit 8 of 9 from the floor and 4 of 5 from 3.
In all, UALR hit eight of its first nine shots and four of its first five from 3-point range after halftime. Hagins and Dillard accounted for the made 3-pointers, two by each, while Hagins (8), Dillard (8) and Woods (4) accounted for all 20 points in the run.
UALR finished the game with just eight turnovers – one in the second half – for its eighth game of the season committing fewer than 10 turnovers.
After finding itself in an early 11-4 hole, a 7-0 run by UALR – capped by a transition 3-pointer from Woods – tied the game at 11-all. The Trojans would go cold from there, however, and would not connect on their next field goal until a layup by Gus Leeper at the 8:47 mark that pulled UALR within three, 17-14.
A triple by Dillard made it a one-point deficit for UALR at 18-17 with 8:07 left in the half. But that would be as close as the Trojans would get before intermission.
After Troy scored the next five points, UALR battled back to trim the deficit to two, 23-21, with 5:40 left in the half. However, Troy closed the half on an 11-4 run to take its largest lead to that point, 34-25, into the locker room.
UALR returns to action Saturday when it hosts UT Arlington at the Jack Stephens Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.