Arkansas State stuns Sun Belt leader UL Monroe 70-68
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Frederic Dure scored the game-winning shot with 5.6 seconds left as Arkansas State knocked off Sun Belt Conference leader UL Monroe 70-68 on Saturday night.
UL Monroe (18-9, 12-4) drops into a three-way tie for first place with Georgia Southern and Georgia State, which both won Saturday. Arkansas State (10-15, 5-11) snapped a five-game losing streak.
UL Monroe's Justin Roberson split a pair of free throws to tie it at 68 with 10 seconds left before P.J. Hardwick found Dure for his winning layup. Majok Deng's potential game-winning 3-point attempt hit off the back of the iron at the buzzer to end it.
Dure scored 21 points and grabbed eight boards to lead Arkansas State. Cameron Golden added 17 points and Anthony Livingston chipped in 16.
Tylor Ongwae scored 20 points and Nick Coppola had 19 to lead the Warhawks.
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Georgia Southern rallies late, beats South Alabama 80-74
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Jelani Hewitt scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures as Georgia Southern made 9 of 10 foul shots in the last 35 seconds to hold off South Alabama 80-74 on Saturday night.
Angel Matias converted a three-point play and Hewitt followed with a 3-pointer as Georgia Southern (19-6, 12-4 Sun Belt) snatched a late lead away from South Alabama (9-19, 7-10).
The Jaguars' Abdul Lewis scored on a layup to grab a 58-57 lead with seven minutes left, but Matias answered with a layup and sank the bonus after being fouled. Hewitt drained his third 3-pointer after a Mike Hughes steal and Trent Wiedeman hit a jumper as Georgia Southern built a 65-58 lead in less than two minutes.
Ken Williams led South Alabama with 18 points and Lewis added 17 with a career-high 13 rebounds.
Hughes scored 13 for Georgia Southern and Matias, Wiedeman and Curtis Diamond each scored 11.
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Georgia State overwhelms Appalachian State 87-43
ATLANTA (AP) R. J. Hunter had 22 points and Ryan Harrow added 20 as Georgia State overwhelmed Appalachian State 87-43 in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday.
Georgia State (19-8, 12-4) dominated from the beginning, rolling to a 44-13 halftime advantage. The Panthers shot 70 percent from the floor in the first half, while limiting Appalachian State to just 5-of-27 (18.5 percent).
The Panthers, who have won eight of the last nine games, have held their last six opponents to under 30 percent shooting as the Mountaineers (9-16, 6-10) finished at 29 percent for the game. No Mountaineer scored more than seven points.
Georgia State remained one game out of first place behind Louisiana Monroe in the conference standings.
Harrow, the Sun Belt's leading scorer - averaging 20.4 points a game - returned to floor after missing the last three games due to concussion-like symptoms.
Markus Crider added 14 points for Georgia State.
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Hagins' 17 lifts UALR over Troy 63-58
TROY, Ala. (AP) Josh Hagins scored 17 points and Ben Dillard added 14 as UALR beat Troy 63-58 on Saturday night for its third conference sweep of the season.
Hagins made three 3-pointers and Dillard was perfect in 11 trips to the free throw line.
Maurius Hill had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Roger Woods added 11 and 11 for UALR (12-15, 7-10 Sun Belt). The Trojans have won four of their last five games.
UALR held a 25-15 lead at halftime, but Troy's Wesley Person Jr. scored the first six points of the second half.
Troy got within three points midway through the second half until UALR went on a 12-1 run for a 49-35 lead. Dillard made six free throws in the final minute to seal it.
Chris Bilbo led Troy (10-16, 5-12) with 15 points. Person added 14.
UALR beat Troy 73-65 on Jan. 22.
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UL Lafayette beats UT Arlington 81-70
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Shawn Long had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and UL Lafayette split the season series with an 81-70 victory over UT Arlington on Saturday night.
The Ragin' Cajuns (16-12, 10-7 Sun Belt) led by double digits through the second half until the final minute when UT Arlington (15-11, 9-7) twice closed within nine.
Jay Wright added 15 points and 10 boards for UL-Lafayette to win its third straight and fifth of seven.
Hayward Register had four early 3-pointers to help the Cajuns jump to an 18-5 lead. Register finished the half with five 3s and all 15 of his points as UL Lafayette closed with a 7-2 run to lead 40-27. Kasey Shepherd finished with 11 points.
The Mavericks were just 5 of 29 from the field in the first half. Erick Neal and Jamel Outler led UTA with 16 points each while Greg Gainey and Kaelon Wilson added 13 apiece.