Hofstra beats Appalachian State 86-80 at MSG
NEW YORK (AP) Brian Bernardi scored 23 points, Ameen Tanksley added 18 and Hofstra beat Appalachian State 86-80 on Sunday in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival.
Tanskley hit a 3 as the shot clock expired with 31 seconds to play to give the Pride (6-2) an 84-77 lead. He made two free throws 10 seconds later to give Hofstra a nine-point lead.
Juan'ya Green added 17 points for Hofstra, which won its third straight, and Rokas Gustys had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Green and Bernardi both were 3 for 5 from 3-point range as the Pride went 9 of 18 from long range.
Frank Eaves had a career-high 38 points for the Mountaineers (2-6), who have lost six of seven. Eaves was 6 of 12 from 3-point range and the Mountaineers finished 11 of 25 from beyond the arc.
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Jackson leads unbeaten Little Rock past Idaho 64-54
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) Jalen Jackson scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting to lead undefeated Little Rock to a 64-54 win over Idaho on Saturday night.
Roger Woods added 13 points and Marcus Johnson Jr. had 12, including a trio of 3-pointers, for LR (7-0), which hit 50 percent of its 46 shots from the field to extend its best-ever Division I season start.
In a close contest, LR retook the lead late in the second half with a 6-0 spurt capped by Lis Shoshi's bucket to make it 50-44 with 6:25 to go. The Trojans then broke away with a 10-2 run sparked by Johnson's 3-pointer to make it 60-51 with 1:09 left and sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Victor Sanders led Idaho with a career-high 24 points. Perrion Callandret added 15 points for the Vandals, who shot just 32 percent from the floor and had 17 turnovers that LR converted for 19 points.
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UT Arlington beats UTEP 76-62
EL PASO, Texas (AP) Kevin Hervey scored 18 points with four assists and grabbed seven rebounds as the UT Arlington beat UTEP 76-62 on Saturday night.
Hervey hit 7 of 11 from the field for the Mavericks (7-2). Erick Neal and Jalen Jones had 14 points apiece and Kaelon Wilson added 13. The team had a 41-34 rebounding edge over UTEP.
Hervey sank a 3-pointer for the first score of the game and Drew Charles hit three more during the first half to help the Mavericks to a 36-31 lead at the break.
UTEP came within four points, 47-43, midway through the second half but the Mavericks opened it up again with a 22-11 run capped by a Wilson 3-pointer to take a 69-54 lead with 3:41 to play and they cruised to the win after that.
Terry Winn scored 14 points with eight rebounds for the Miners (6-2).
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Middle Tennessee has strong 2nd half, beats S. Alabama 68-55
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) Darnell Harris had 20 points and Giddy Potts added 17 and grabbed 14 rebounds as Middle Tennessee had a strong second half to beat South Alabama 68-55 on Saturday night.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) had a 31-29 lead at the break but the Jaguars opened the second with an 8-4 run to lead 37-35 at the 16:24 mark. Potts and Xavier Habersham answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to start a 16-3 run and never trailed again.
The Blue Raiders, who have beaten South Alabama eight straight times, nailed 11 of 19 from beyond the arc. Middle Tennessee shot 22 of 48 (45.8%) from the floor while limiting South Alabama to 20-of-59 (33.9%) shooting. Middle Tennessee also controlled the boards, grabbing 45 compared to South Alabama's 30.
Harris was 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and had three assists. Perrin Buford added 11 points.
Shaq Calhoun led South Alabama (3-5) with 20 points.
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Austin Peay downs Troy 80-71 behind Horton
TROY, Ala. (AP) Chris Horton scored 21 points, Josh Robinson added 17, and Austin Peay outscored Troy 34-18 in the paint to win 80-71 on Saturday.
Horton, ranked fourth nationally at 13 rebounds per outing and third in double-doubles (7), also grabbed 13 rebounds and the Governors (4-5) outrebounded the Trojans 42-31, scoring 17 second-chance points off 14 offensive boards.
Kahlil Davis scored 16 with four 3-pointers and Austin Peay made 21 of 27 free throws (78 percent).
Trailing 36-31 at halftime, Troy led 41-38 after Jordon Varnado's 3, but the Governors were up 62-51 after Terrell Thompson hit a layup with 8:05 left and held on despite three Troy 3-pointers in the final 2:38.
Jeremy Hollimon scored 25 points with six 3-pointers, both season highs. Varnado finished with 13 points, and Wesley Person Jr. had 12 with four 3-pointers for Troy (4-4). Person has scored a 3-pointer in 37 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.
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Texas A&M-CC beats Texas St. 47-39 in defensive struggle
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) Rashawn Thomas had 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pulled away in the second half to beat Texas State 47-39 in a defensive struggle on Saturday night.
The Islanders (6-2), who have won five straight games, held their last five opponents to under 40% shooting.
Texas State (3-1) made just 9-of-42 (21.4%) from the floor. The Bobcats' final field goal was made with 8:21 left.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi led 19-13 at the break. The Bobcats opened the second half with an 11-6 run to close to 25-24 and trailed just 33-31 with 7:30 left. But the Islanders limited Texas State to 10 free throws in the final eight minutes.
Hameed Ali had seven points and dished out five assists for the Islanders, who were 15 of 51 (29.4%) from the floor.
Ojai Black led Texas State with 11 points. Kavin Gilder-Tilbury chipped in nine points.