Appalachian State edges Arkansas State 74-73
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Milos Kostic hit three 3-pointers in the second half, and scored on a put-back with 13 seconds left as Appalachian State edged Arkansas State 74-73 Saturday night.
Down 14 points with 9:37 to go, Kostic drained his second trey to pull Appalachian State within 67-66 with 2:06 to play. His third 3 gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the second half, 72-71, with :51 left.
Anthony Livingston answered for the Red Wolves to regain the lead with :40 remaining. Jake Babic missed the ensuing jumper before Kostic grabbed the carom and scored the game-winner.
The Red Wolves couldn't answer when Sean Gardner's shot missed with two seconds left.
Frank Eaves scored 22 points, and Kostic finished with 11 for Appalachian State (4-6, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference).
Livingston had 21 points and 13 boards, and P.J. Hardwick had 10 points and 15 assists for Arkansas State (6-5, 1-1).
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UT Arlington holds off South Alabama 99-87
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Johnny Hill scored 15 points and handed out seven assists to help UT Arlington hang on for a 99-87 win over South Alabama.
Lonnie McClanahan and Anthony Walker contributed 14 points apiece, Drew Charles had 12 and Greg Gainey 10 for the Mavericks (8-4, 2-0 Sun Belt), who shot 59.7 percent from the floor (40 of 67) to win their fifth straight game.
UT Arlington never trailed, opening with a 15-2 run and taking a 55-34 advantage into the break.
South Alabama (2-10, 0-2) also shot well, hitting 29 of 55 from the floor, including 18 of 28 from long range, and outscored UT Arlington 53-44 over the final 20 minutes. But the Jaguars were outrebounded 40-25 and took fewer shots in their seventh-straight loss.
Ken Williams had 18 points to lead five South Alabama players in double figures.
The win gave UT Arlington its first 2-0 conference start in three seasons.
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Harrow, Ware lead Georgia State to 82-69 win over UALR
ATLANTA (AP) Ryan Harrow had 22 points and Kevin Ware had a career-high 21 on his 22nd birthday as Georgia State pulled away in the second half to beat Arkansas-Little Rock 82-69 in Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday.
Georgia State, the defending conference champs, has now won 18 straight at home over two seasons.
Ware, who was 8 of 14 from the field, also had five assists and three steals. R.J. Hunter added 14 points for Georgia State (9-4. 2-0).
Arkansas-Little Rock stayed close and led 48-47 with 13:02 left in the game. Harrow hit a jumper, Jalen Brown nailed a 3-pointer and Harrow hit another jumper to start a 14-5 run that led to a 61-53 advantage with 7:22 left. The Trojans never challenged again.
James Reid and Ben Dillard had 14 points apiece to lead UALR (5-7, 0-2).
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UL Lafayette rolls over Troy 91-64
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Jay Wright scored 20 points to lead a balanced attack and UL Lafayette rolled over Troy 91-64 on Saturday.
Wright was 8 of 11 from the floor. Kasey Shepherd had 19 points, Shawn Long had 18 and Brian Williams added 15.
It was tied at 28 with 3:39 left in the first after Troy's Wesley Person Jr. drilled a 3-pointer, but UL Lafayette (8-5, 2-0 Sun Belt) closed on an 11-3 run - including dunks on back-to-back possessions by Wright and Long - to lead 39-31 at the break.
The Rajun' Cajuns ran away from Troy (5-6, 0-2) after intermission. A 12-3 run, punctuated by Shepherd's 3-pointer, made it 51-34 less than 3 minutes into the second, and the lead hit 20 with 11:32 left on a pair of free throws by Shepherd as UL Lafayette cruised to the win.
Person had 17 points in the first half and finished with 28.
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Georgia Southern holds on to beat Texas State 40-36
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Jelani Hewitt nailed a game-tying 3-pointer and made three free throws to seal the win as Georgia Southern came from behind to beat Texas State 40-36 on Saturday night.
Texas State held a 33-30 lead with 4:13 remaining. Hewitt, who made one field goal all night, hit the trey to tie with 3:50 left. Trent Wiedeman, who finished with 12 points, made two free throws and Angel Matias put in a missed layup to give the Eagles a 37-35 lead with 1:18 left. Hewitt, who was 7 of 8 from the foul line, had 10 points.
Both teams started cold and never warmed up. Georgia Southern (8-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) was 12 of 40 from the floor. The Bobcats, who made just four field goals in the second half, shot 26.8 percent for the game. Each team had 18 turnovers.
Emani Gant had 10 points for Texas State (7-4, 1-1).