Appalachian State rolls to 66-43 win over UL Monroe
BOONE, N.C. (AP) Frank Eaves scored 28 points as Appalachian State rolled to a 66-43 win over UL Monroe on Saturday, snapping a five-game slide.
Eaves did most of the scoring for the Mountaineers (10-17, 7-11 Sun Belt) and finished with 9-of-14 shooting from the field, including 5-of-9 from distance. Jacob Lawson added eight points and six boards and Dustin Clarke chipped in seven points.
An Eaves 3-pointer capped a 13-0 run by Appalachian State midway through the first half that had the Mountaineers on top 21-10 on their way to a 34-19 lead at the break.
Eaves and Chris Burgess combined for three more from distance midway through the second half for a 53-32 Mountaineers advantage and they led by double digits for the remainder of the game.
Nick Coppola had 12 points with four assists for the Warhawks (19-10, 13-5).
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UL Lafayette beats Georgia Southern 68-58
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Jay Wright scored 20 points and UL Lafayette hit 12 3-pointers to beat Georgia Southern 68-58 on Saturday night.
Georgia Southern (20-7, 13-5 Sun Belt Conference) is now tied with Georgia State and UL Monroe for first place in the conference. UL Lafayette (17-12, 11-7) is in fourth place, two games back of the leaders.
UL Lafayette led 59-49 with 7:59 to play before Georgia Southern used a 9-2 surge to pull within 61-58 with 2:47 left, but the Eagles then went on to miss their last eight shots.
Hayward Register made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, and Shawn Long added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns.
Jelani Hewitt scored 17 to lead Georgia Southern, which shot just 22 of 63 (35 percent), including 7 of 25 from long range (28 percent).
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Harrow scores 17 points, leads Georgia State over Troy 75-64
TROY, Ala. (AP) Ryan Harrow scored 17 points to help Georgia State roll to a 75-64 victory over Troy on Saturday.
The Panthers (20-9, 13-5 Sun Belt Conference) bounced back after having its four-game win streak snapped by Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday night, and pulls even with Louisiana-Monroe (19-10, 13-5) in the conference standings.
Both Georgia State and Louisiana-Monroe are a half-game back of conference leader Georgia Southern (20-6, 13-4), which plays Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night.
Georgia State led 39-25 at the break and stretched it to 57-34 with 9:43 to play.
Harrow was 7 of 12 from the floor and Markus Crider chipped in 13 points for the Panthers, who shot 62 percent from the floor.
Musa Abdul-Aleem scored the Trojans' last 12 points and finished with 19 and Wesley Person Jr. added 12 for Troy (10-18, 5-14), which has lost six of its last seven games.
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UT Arlington beats UALR 82-73
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Lonnie McClanahan had 18 points and 12 assists, Erick Neal had a key 3-pointer and UT Arlington beat UALR 82-73 on Saturday.
McClanahan celebrated his senior night with his first double-double of the season and the freshman Neal shot 4 of 4 from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line.
Neal's biggest shot was a 3-pointer with 1:24 left that gave the Mavericks (16-12, 10-8 Sun Belt) a 75-69 lead. He followed 15 seconds later with a pair of free throws to push the lead to eight and UTA sealed the victory with 5 of 8 free throws in the final minute.
UALR (13-16, 8-11) trailed 40-31 at the break and by as many as 11 in the second but took the lead briefly at 67-66 with 4:32 left. UTA took the lead back for good 16 seconds later.
Roger Woods led the Trojans with 16.
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Texas State stays in hunt, tops Arkansas State 70-60
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Kavin Gilder-Tulbury scored 19 points and Texas State kept its Sun Belt Tournament hopes alive with a 70-60 win over Arkansas State Saturday.
The Bobcats (13-14, 7-11) move into a three-team tie for seventh place in the Sun Belt standings with two games left. The top eight teams advance to the conference tournament, which opens March 12. Arkansas State (11-16, 6-12) is a game back, with home games against South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette remaining.
Texas State took an 11-point lead in the first half and maintained it through the second.
The Red Wolves got within eight points, 68-60 with :24 left after Anthony Livingston converted a pair of free throws, but D.J. Brown answered with a pair a second later for the final margin.
Texas State closes out the regular season with games at Appalachian State and Louisiana-Monroe.
Livingston finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead Arkansas State.