Georgia State beats Georgia Southern 72-55
ATLANTA (AP) R.J. Hunter scored 35 points to lead Georgia State to a 72-55 win over Georgia Southern Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.
Curtis Washington added 12 points and five rebounds for the Panthers (22-9, 15-5) who finish No. 1 in the Sun Belt and will play their first championship game on March 14 in New Orleans.
Georgia State went up 16-7 to start and led 32-21 at the break. Jelani Hewitt and Curtis Diamond sank back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to help Georgia Southern close the gap to four points, 38-34, with 15:30 to play. But the Panthers followed with a 14-7 surge - highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers by Hunter - to stretch their lead to 52-41 with 10:10 remaining and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Hewitt led the Eagles (21-8, 14-6) with 17 points and five assists.
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UL Monroe pulls off 56-53 win over Texas State
MONROE, La. (AP) Nick Coppola hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:17 to play and scored three more points in the final minutes as UL Monroe topped Texas State 56-53 on Saturday.
UL Monroe (20-11, 14-6) secured the No. 3 seed and a first round bye in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, and will play in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Coppola's 3 gave the Warhawks a 51-49 lead. After both teams missed shots on back-to-back possessions and Texas State turned the ball over, Coppola was fouled and converted both at the line for a four point lead with 59 seconds remaining. He split a pair of free throws with two seconds left for the final margin, and finished with eight points.
Majok Deng scored 11 points and Justin Roberson added 10 for the Warhawks.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury led Texas State (13-16, 7-13) with 16 points. The eighth-seeded Bobcats play fifth-seeded UT Arlington on Thursday.
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UL Lafayette handles Arkansas State 81-57
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Hayward Register led four players in double figures with 19 points and UL Lafayette handled Arkansas State 81-57 on Saturday night.
UL Lafayette (19-12, 13-7 Sun Belt) won its last six games and finished fourth in the conference. Shawn Long scored 17 points with 12 rebounds, Jay Wright had 14 points and Johnathan Stove added 10. UL Lafayette outrebounded the Red Wolves 49-38.
The Ragin' Cajuns closed the first half on a 13-5 run - including Wright's 3-pointer with 20 seconds left - to lead 43-33 at the break. Wright and Stove both had 10 points in the opening half.
The lead eclipsed the 20-point mark with 12:06 left when Register's 3-pointer made it 60-38.
Arkansas State (11-18, 6-14) was led by Anthony Livingston with 17 points and 11 rebounds. P.J. Hardwick added 13 points. The Red Wolves lost their last three games and finished 10th in the conference.
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Appalachian State beats UT Arlington 72-60
BOONE, N.C. (AP) Frank Eaves scored 21 points to lead Appalachian State to a 72-60 win over the UT Arlington on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.
Jake Babic added 15 points and Chris Burgess had 11 points for the Mountaineers (12-17, 9-11 Sun Belt) who play in the Sun Belt tournament quarterfinals on March 12.
UTA led 27-26 at the break but Eaves hit a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half to put the Mountaineers on top 32-31 and an 11-2 surge midway gave them a 49-42 edge with 9:05 remaining. Two layups by Anthony Walker helped bring UTA back to within four points, 60-56, with 2:36 to play before a Babic jumper and a Burgess 3-pointer helped the Mountaineers hold on for the win.
Jamel Outler led the Mavericks (16-14, 10-10) with 11 points. Jorge Bilbao added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
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South Alabama defeats Troy 96-93 behind Williams' 28 points
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Ken Williams scored 28 points, Barrington Stevens made two free throws with four seconds left and South Alabama held off Troy 96-93 on Saturday.
Stevens and Dionte Ferguson both scored a career-high 19 points with Ferguson grabbing 14 rebounds for the Jaguars (11-20, 9-11 Sun Belt), who will be a six seed in the tournament next week.
Musa Abdul-Aleem hit 8 of 10 3-pointers and poured in 37 points, both career highs, for the Trojans (10-19, 5-15), who did not qualify for the tournament. Wesley Person Jr., added 25 points and John Walton III 21.
In the last minute, Abdul-Aleem had a three-point play, Williams answered with a 3 but Abdul-Aleem hit a 3 with eight seconds left to make it 94-93. After Steven's free throws, Kelton Ford missed a good look at a tying basket.
Troy made 19 of 33 shots in the second half but just 3 of 9 treys to finish 10 of 23, while South Alabama made 8 of 18 3s to finish 12 of 31 and was 22 of 26 from the line.