UL Lafayette outlasts Georgia State 84-80
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Shawn Long had 16 points with 13 rebounds and Devonta Walker added 15 points, including four late free throws to help UL Lafayette defeat Georgia State 84-80 on Thursday night.
Brian Williams finished with 18 points and Jay Wright added 13 with six assists for the Ragin' Cajuns (10-5, 4-0 Sun Belt).
R.J. Hunter led Georgia State (9-6, 2-2) with 27 points and six assists while Ryan Harrow chipped in 25 points.
The Panthers dominated early, leading by as much as 17, but UL-Lafayette closed the first half on a 26-10 run to trail by just one at the break. Walker sank a pair of free throws to grab the lead late, then hit two more for a three-point lead with seven seconds left.
Hunter made a free throw, and Kevin Ware grabbed the rebound after Hunter's intentional miss, but Ware couldn't find the net on the putback attempt.
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UL Monroe beats UT Arlington 76-73 in OT
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Marvin Williams had 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 13 rebounds and UL Monroe overcame a 13-point second-half deficit on Thursday night to beat UT Arlington 76-73 in overtime.
Williams stretched the Warhawks' (8-6, 2-1 Sun Belt) lead to 74-71 on a jumper with 1:11 left and made it 76-72 on a putback with 3 seconds left. He scored eight of UL Monroe's nine points in overtime.
UT Arlington (8-6, 2-2) led 28-20 after a slow first half and went ahead 36-23 early in the second. The Warhawks nearly erased the lead with a 12-2 run and later tied it at 43. The Mavericks went back up 54-45 before ULM pulled in front at 61-60, and the teams played back-and-forth from there.
Majok Deng scored 15 and Mack Foster added 11 for the Warhawks.
Johnny Hill led the Mavericks with 19 points. Kaelon Wilson added 16 points and Greg Gainey scored 10.
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Texas St. beats UALR 77-74 in 2OT
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) D.J. Brown scored 16 points, including the winning 3-pointer in double overtime, to lead Texas State past UALR 77-74 on Thursday night.
A three-point play by Kavin Gilder-Tilbury gave Texas State (9-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) a 74-69 lead with 2:07 left. A jumper by Ben Dillard and a 3 by Josh Hagins with 6 seconds left tied it at 74, setting up Brown's heroics.
Texas State became the first team in Sun Belt Conference history to play in back-to-back double overtime games following its 77-74 win in double overtime at Georgia State on Monday night.
Hagins, who led UALR (5-9, 0-4) with 18 points, made a layup with 1:28 left in the first overtime which gave the Trojans a 65-61 lead, but Gilder Tilbury - who scored 10 of his 15 points after the end of regulation - hit 4 of 4 free throws to force the second overtime.
UALR's Roger Woods made a layup with 3 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 56.
Ethan Montalvo had 15 points and Emani Gant added 13 and eight rebounds for Texas State.
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South Alabama holds off Appalachian State, 104-95
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Ken Williams poured in a career-high 26 points and led six players into double-figure scoring as South Alabama held off Appalachian State, 104-95 in a Sun Belt Conference battle Thursday night.
The Jaguars (4-10, 2-2 Sun Belt) built a 15-point lead in the first half, leading 48-33 at intermission, and held off the Mountaineers in the second to even their conference record.
Williams finished shooting 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Dionte Ferguson added 19 points and Georgi Boyanov contributed 17 off the bench. The Jaguars shot 61.2 percent from the field, including 10 of 17 from long range and 34 of 44 from the free throw line.
Frank Eaves scored 21 points to lead Appalachian State (4-8, 1-2). Chris Burgess added 18 points and Dustin Clarke contributed 16 as five Mountaineers reached double figure.
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Georgia Southern blasts Arkansas State, 73-61
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Jelani Hewett scored 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting and dished out five assists to lead Georgia Southern to a 73-61 victory over Arkansas State on Tuesday night.
Curtis Diamond added 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Eagles (9-3, 2-1 Sun Belt), and Angel Matias finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Offensively Georgia Southern hit 50 percent of its attempts from the field and 11 of 20 from 3-point range while holding the Red Wolves to 38.6 percent and 6 of 19 from downtown. The Eagles also held a plus-19 advantage on the glass, 43-24.
Cameron Golden led Arkansas State (6-7, 1-3) with 17 points and six assists. P.J. Hardwick finished with 12 points for the Red Wolves.
Georgia Southern never trailed in the game, opening on a 29-5 scoring stretch, and led by 15 at the half.