Williams hits late FTs, Georgia St. beats Middle Tenn. 64-62
ATLANTA (AP) Isaiah Williams sank two free throws with three seconds remaining to give Georgia State a 64-62 win over Middle Tennessee on Tuesday night.
Joshua Phillips got off a 3-point jumper as time expired but came up short.
Georgia State (7-2), which has won four straight, was ahead 62-57 after Markus Crider's layup with :47 remaining. Middle Tennessee's Perrin Buford made two free throws and Darnell Harris nailed a 3-pointer to tie at 62 with :14 left.
Kevin Ware led the Panthers with 18 points. Williams was 9 of 12 from the line and had 13 points with five assists. Crider chipped in 12 points.
The Panthers hit a scorching 13 of 22 (59 percent) from the floor in the second half while limiting Middle Tennessee to just 8-of-26 shooting (31 percent) in that period.
Reggie Upshaw had 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Middle Tennessee (7-3). Harris also had 18 points.
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Brown's 27 lead Georgia Southern over Stetson 78-58
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Tookie Brown had a season-high 27 points on Tuesday night with three 3-pointers and 10-of-18 shooting to help Georgia Southern beat Stetson 78-58.
Georgia Southern (4-6) went on an 11-0 run to lead 63-45 on Mike Hughes' layup with 6:06 left.
The freshman Brown scored nine of his points from there to help the Eagles hold snap a three-game losing streak ahead of their conference opener at Texas State on Dec. 30.
It was the third straight 20-point game for Brown, who improved his scoring average to 17.3 points. Ike Smith added 12 points and Devonte Boykins scored 11.
Stetson (4-9) trailed by as many as 18 in the early part of the second half before rallying to within 52-45 with 11:22 to play.
Angel Rivera led the Hatters with 15 points. Derick Newton had 13 points and Brian Pegg added 12.
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Livingston leads Arkansas St. to 77-67 win over Central Ark.
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Anthony Livingston had 22 points and seven rebounds as Arkansas State had a strong second half to hold off Central Arkansas 77-67 on Tuesday night.
Donte Thomas added 14 points, hauled in 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists for the Red Wolves (4-7). Frederic Dure added 14 points and Devin Carter chipped in 13.
Arkansas State was 24 of 54 (44.4 percent) from the floor while limiting Central Arkansas to 21-for-66 (31.8 percent) shooting.
The Red Wolves got off to a slow start, trailing 31-30 at the half. Carter nailed a 3-pointer to open the second period and start a 17-6 run for a 47-38 lead. Central Arkansas closed to 73-64 with 1:05 left but a Thomas layup pushed the lead to 75-64.
Justin Foreman had 17 points to lead Central Arkansas (1-9) which last won when the Bears knocked over UTSA 98-84 on Nov. 23. Jordan Howard added 14 points.
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Texas Tech pulls away from Arkansas-Little Rock 65-53
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) Zach Smith recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in Texas Tech's 65-53 win over Little Rock on Tuesday afternoon.
Toddrick Gotcher also scored 12 points for the Red Raiders (9-1), who extended their winning streak to eight games.
''He recognized that he had to raise his level of play because we were struggling from the front line,'' Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said of the 6-foot-8 Smith. ''And he always plays bigger than when you look at his physique. He's not a physical presence out there, but he can really go get the ball.''
Texas Tech outrebounded LR 39-23.
Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 14 points for Arkansas-Little Rock and Josh Hagins added 11 points.
Little Rock (10-1) entered the game with the nation's top scoring defense, allowing 53.7 points per game, and was one of six undefeated teams nationally.
Texas Tech sealed its win with a 10-0 run late in the second half that was started by a Gotcher jumper. Aaron Ross scored on the next possession with a long jumper.
Texas Tech closed the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-31 halftime lead.
''You could tell the intensity level was raised,'' Smith said. ''And there are a lot of storylines. We were trying to make sure we kept our guys focused and for the most part, I have to give our kids credit for keeping their poise.''
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TIP-INS:
Little Rock: Coach Chris Beard spent 10 seasons as a Texas Tech assistant under Bob and Pat Knight from 2001-11. During his ten seasons on staff, Texas Tech won 188 games - the best 10-year stretch in program history. ... Little Rock received votes in the AP Top 25 poll - the first time it has received votes in the poll since 1988. ... The Trojans' 10-0 start was the best in program and Sun Belt Conference history.
Texas Tech: After missing the last two games due to an academic eligibility issue, C.J. Williamson was cleared and dressed for Texas Tech, but did not play.
UP NEXT:
Texas Tech hosts Richmond on Dec. 29.
Little Rock visits South Alabama on Dec. 30.
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Mississippi beats Troy in overtime 83-80
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) Style points are not a big deal to Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy. But the bottom line is.
''At the end of the day, they don't say how. They just say how many,'' said Kennedy after the Rebels rallied for an 83-80 overtime win over Troy.
''We're just happy to get our seventh win in a row heading into the SEC schedule.''
Tomasz Gielo and Stefan Moody scored 23 points apiece for the Rebels, who played their finale in Tad Smith Coliseum, which served as home court since 1966. Ole Miss needed a season-high offensive performance from Gielo, who finished 5 of 11 from 3-point range.
Sebastian Saiz and Martavious Newby added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Rebels. Saiz had six points in overtime as the Rebels outscored Troy 5-0 in the final minute to erase an 80-78 deficit.
Jeremy Hollimon scored 22 points, including 14 in the final five minutes of regulation, to lead the upset bid for Troy (5-6). Wesley Person and Jordon Varnado added 17 points apiece for the Trojans, who led at halftime 32-31.
''Our players fought and battled hard and I'm proud of this effort,'' Troy coach Phil Cunningham said. ''We don't like losing, but we had the fight and we gave ourselves an opportunity. There were a lot of positives.''
The Trojans rallied from a 61-48 deficit with 7:48 left behind Hollimon's late outburst to force overtime at 73-73. Person hit a basket and two free throws to give Troy an 80-78 overtime lead with 1:16 remaining.
Saiz converted a layup and a pair of free throws in successive overtime possessions, to give the Rebels an 82-80 lead with 33 seconds left.
Hollimon missed a contested layup with seven seconds remaining before Anthony Perez hit a final free throw to seal it for the Rebels.
''We got just enough stops,'' Kennedy said. ''We had players step up for us.
''Troy challenged us and I'm proud we answered that challenge.''
Ole Miss shot 30 of 71 (42 percent) from the field, including 8 of 29 (28 percent) from 3-point range and forced 19 turnovers. The Bulldogs finished 31 of 65 (48 percent) from the field, 6 of 20 (30 percent) from the 3-point line including four straight conversions in the final three minutes.
TIP-INS
Mississippi: Ole Miss finished 490-210 (70 percent) in the final game at Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels move to the $95 million, state-of-the-art ''The Pavilion,'' to begin SEC play in January.
Troy: Troy is 0-10 against Ole Miss. ... Both clubs finished with 40 rebounds apiece.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
''It's been easy for people to poke fun at Tad Smith Coliseum, but the truth is my teams have won about 80 percent of our games here. There are a lot of good memories here,'' Kennedy said. ''But now our dream is becoming a reality with the Pavilion. It's the next step in where we want this program to be.''
UP NEXT
Ole Miss visits Kentucky on Jan. 2 in the SEC opener for both teams.
Troy hosts Arkansas State on Dec. 30 in the Sun Belt Conference opener both teams.
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McMillan helps Canisius beat Louisiana-Monroe in 3OT
LAS VEGAS (AP) Malcolm McMillan scored eight of his 21 in the third and final overtime and Kassius Robertson had a career-high 28 points as Canisius rallied Tuesday for an improbable 108-96 win over UL Monroe at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.
UL Monroe (5-6), which made 29 of 54 (54 percent) field goals in regulation, missed all six of its shots and committed four turnovers during its scoreless final OT. McMillan hit a 3-pointer and made 5 of 6 free throws for Canisius (5-6).
A free throw by Justin Roberson gave ULM a 77-64 lead with 1:10 left in regulation but Chris Atkinson scored eight as the Golden Griffins used a 14-1 run to send it into overtime. The Warhawks missed the front end of three 1-and-1s and were just 1 of 6 from the stripe during that span.
DeMondre Harvey had a career-high 19 points and season-high 14 rebounds for ULM.
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