Little Rock holds off Troy 67-61
TROY, Ala. (AP) Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 22 points and Jalen Jackson added 18 and Little Rock held off Troy 67-61 on Saturday.
Jordon Varnado, who had 18 points, hit a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to pull Troyin with 61-58. Little Rock made 4 of 6 free throws to secure the win.
A late 3 from Kelton Ford made Troy (5-8, 0-2 Sun Belt) just the third team to surpass 60 against Little Rock (12-1, 2-0).
Jackson had 16 points in the second half for Little Rock (12-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) and shot 8 of 11 from the field. Johnson had four 3s and made 8 of 9 free throws.
Little Rock shot 54.5 percent in the second half (12 of 22).
Troy led 34-29 at the half against the team that leads in the nation in scoring defense (55.2) but only shot 26 percent (6 of 23) in the second half.
-------------------
Arkansas State pulls away from South Alabama 89-67
MOBILE, Ala. (AP and Arkansas State Media Relations) Behind a triple-double by Donte Thomas and a double-double by Anthony Livingston, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team improved to 2-0 in Sun Belt play with a 89-67 win at South Alabama Saturday.
Thomas finished with 14 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the third triple-double in A-State program history and fifth by a Sun Belt student-athlete in a conference game since the 1998-99 season. Livingston collected his second double-double in league play and 21st in his Red Wolves’ career with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Devin Carter added 20 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.
Arkansas State (6-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) led 35-33 at the half. But the Red Wolves used a 12-3 run in the first four minutes after the break to make it 47-36.
South Alabama (5-8, 0-2) responded with Georgi Boyanov's layup and back-to-back 3s by Ken Williams to cut its deficit to 49-44. The Red Wolves countered with Livingston's jumper and Carter's three consecutive 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch to extend their lead to 60-46, which was never challenged.
Williams finished with 23 points for South Alabama.
Arkansas State raced to a 12-2 lead, which grew to 24-9 on a Carter 3 with 11:40 left, but the Jaguars outscored Arkansas State 24-11 to close the gap.
-----------------------
UT Arlington rolls over Georgia Southern 92-72
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Kevin Hervey had 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead UT Arlington to a 92-72 victory over Georgia Southern in Sun Belt Conference action on Monday night.
Hervey was 9 of 15 from the floor and hit four from long range. Drew Charles was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc for 16 points and Erick Neal added 12 for UT Arlington (11-2, 2-0).
The Mavericks opened league play on Wednesday with an 85-70 win over defending Sun Belt champion Georgia State, giving coach Scott Cross a 163-130 record making him the winningest coach in UT Arlington history.
The Mavericks, who led Georgia Southern 42-39 at the half, opened the second period with a 26-8 run for a 68-47 lead at the 10:56 mark.
UT Arlington hit 14 of 31 from long range, making 29 of 56 field goal attempts.
Mike Hughes led the Eagles (4-8, 0-2) with 24 and Tookie Brown added 17 points.
-----------------------
UL Lafayette dominates Appalachian State 79-58
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Shawn Long had 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead UL Lafayette to a 79-58 win over Appalachian State in Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday.
Kasey Shepherd made 6 of 12 field goals for 19 points and Bryce Washington added 12 as UL Lafayette (5-6, 1-1) won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The Ragin' Cajuns, in search of their first road victory, travel to Little Rock on Thursday.
UL Lafayette never trailed and jumped out to a 40-21 halftime advantage. The Ragin' Cajuns made 48 percent of their field goals while limiting the Mountaineers to 20-of-60 shooting and outscored Appalachian State in the paint, 42-22.
Frank Eaves had 19 points and Ronshad Shabazz added 11 for Appalachian State, which has now lost eight straight games.
-----------------------------
Georgia State beats Texas State 58-46
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Jeremy Hollowell had 12 of his 18 points before halftime, and Georgia State held Texas State to 16 first-half points on its way to a 58-46 win on Saturday night.
Isaiah Williams added nine of his 13 points in the second half for Georgia State (8-3, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference). The Panthers led by 10 at the break and took control for good early in the second half with an 8-0 run to lead 41-27.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury had 15 points to lead Texas State (7-4, 1-1), which made 5 of 22 shots in the first half and missed all seven 3-point attempts. The Bobcats finished 16 of 51 overall and 3 of 20 from 3-point range.
Hollowell was 7 of 12 from the field and Williams was 5 of 9 to help the Panthers' 52-percent shooting (23 of 44).
-----------------------