Georgia Southern edges Georgia State 58-54
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Mike Hughes scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Georgia Southern shook off a halftime deficit to beat Georgia State 58-54 on Thursday.
The teams combined for just 12 points through the first nine minutes of the game. Georgia State closed the half on a 12-6 run - six from Ryan Harrow - and led 25-19 at the break.
Georgia Southern (16-4, 9-2 Sun Belt) came back in the second half to tie at 41 with 7:36 left on Hughes' 3-pointer. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hughes and Jake Allsmiller gave the Eagles a five-point lead with 3:47 left. They made 5 of 6 from the line at the end to seal it.
Jelani Hewitt had 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and a blocked shot off the bench for Georgia Southern.
Georgia State (15-8, 8-4 Sun Belt) was led by Harrow's 17 points, while Markus Crider added 14 points and seven boards.
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UL Monroe cruises past UALR, 77-61
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Tylor Ongwae and Majok Deng both pumped in 21 points as hot-shooting UL Monroe cruised past UALR, 77-61 on Thursday night.
The Warhawks built a 10-point advantage in the first half, leading 37-27 at the break.
UL Monroe connected on 30 of 52 shots from the floor (57.7 percent) and knocked down 5 of 15 from beyond the arc. Jamaal Samuel added 16 points for the Warhawks (15-8, 9-3 Sun Belt).
The victory keeps UL Monroe alone in second place in the Sun Belt Conference, a game behind Georgia Southern and a game ahead of Georgia State.
Maurius Hill scored 20 points to lead UALR (8-14, 3-9). Josh Hagins and Ben Dillard each added 10 points.
The Trojans connected on just 20 of 59 shots on their home court (33.9 percent) and hit just 4 of 21 shots from distance.
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Long's double-double leads Ragin' Cajuns to 81-66 win
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Shawn Long scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and UL Lafayette defeated Appalachian State 81-66 on Thursday night.
Long, who went over 1,500 career points, notched his fourth straight double-double. Hayward Register added 20 points with six three-pointers, both career highs, for the Ragin' Cajuns (13-10, 7-5 Sun Belt).
Frank Eaves and Jake Babic, the latter with a career high, each scored 16 points for the Mountaineers (8-12, 5-6). Chris Burgess added 14.
The Ragin' Cajuns shot 49.1 percent, 10 percentage points better than the Mountaineers, and were 18 of 21 from the free-throw line to 8 of 10 for the visitors.
The Ragin' Cajuns led from the opening minute until the Mountaineers tied the game at 50-all with 16:21 remaining. But UL Lafayette scored 11 of the next 13 points. A 6-0 spurt put the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 69-57 and the lead never went under double digits thereafter.
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Troy beats Arkansas State 69-64
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Musa Abdul-Aleem scored 17 points - 15 in the first half - and three other Trojans scored in double digits Thursday to give Troy a 68-59 win over Arkansas State.
The Trojans (8-12, 3-8 Sun Belt) led 42-24 at halftime on 51.5 percent shooting, but saw their big lead dwindle in the second half.
The Red Wolves gained ground when the Trojans went scoreless for three minutes, then two minutes, pulling within 67-59 on a 3-pointer by Sean Gardner with 59 seconds left to play. Gardner hit three free throws in the final three seconds, but the Red Wolves couldn't catch up.
Kevin Thomas scored 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four steals for Troy. John Walton III added 12 points, and Wesley Person Jr. 11.
Gardner led Arkansas State (9-13, 4-9) with 20 points, including seven 3-pointers, and Anthony Livingston and Cameron Golden scored 13 apiece.