South Alabama beats Florida International in OT, 69-64
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Georgi Boyanov knocked down a 3-pointer to give South Alabama the lead in overtime and the Jaguars held Florida International scoreless for almost four minutes of the extra period to earn a 69-64 victory in the first round of the Roundball Classic Friday night.
Josh Ajayi grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in to get South Alabama even with six seconds left in regulation and force overtime.
The Panthers held an eight-point lead with six minutes left in regulation but were held scoreless for a three-minute stretch while South Alabama clawed its way back.
Don MuepoKelly's layup got the Jaguars within three, 53-50 with 3:40 left.
Ajayi finished with a career-high 27 points to lead South Alabama.
Eric Nottage scored 18 points to lead Florida International.
Florida International faces Jacksonville Saturday while the host Jaguars face Youngstown State. The tournament wraps up Sunday.
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Sanders has 20 as Idaho holds off Little Rock 65-57
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Victor Sanders finished with 20 points, including three free throws in the final seconds, to help Idaho beat Little Rock 65-57 on Friday night to snap the Trojans' 18-game home winning streak.
The Vandals (2-1) were up 29-21 at the break and had to fend off a late Trojan charge. Little Rock closed to 58-55 with 1:21 left. Myles Franklin drove for a layup, Nate Sherwood made two free throws and Sanders hit three straight free throws in the final 37 seconds to seal it.
Sanders shot 5 of 11 from the field and made three 3-pointers. Sherwood finished with 14 points, Arkadiy Mkrtychyan added 11 and Brayon Blake pulled down 12 rebounds for Idaho.
The Vandals were 21 of 49 (42.9%) from the floor while limiting Little Rock to 19-of-61 shooting.
Marcus Johnson Jr. led Little Rock (2-1) with 23 points. Lis Shoshi added 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
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Boilermakers close with 20-0 run to beat Georgia State
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) During Matt Painter's 12 seasons coaching Purdue, the Boilermakers have suffered shocking home losses to Wofford, Bucknell and Gardner-Webb.
With 7:08 remaining in Friday night's game against Georgia State, Purdue trailed 56-44 and was in danger of falling to 1-2 after making only two of its first 18 attempts from 3-point range.
But with Caleb Swanigan finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds, the Boilermakers (2-1) closed the game with a 20-0 run to salvage a 64-56 victory in an on-campus Cancun Challenge game.
Dakota Mathias hit two 3-pointers and P.J. Thompson one during the game-closing run.
''I think the 3-pointers sealed the game, but our defense during the final 10 minutes of each of our past two games has been very good,'' Painter said. ''You obviously are not impressed by the position we put ourselves in, but I don't think our guys respected them as much as our coaching staff did.''
Center Isaas Haas added 11 points for Purdue, and Jeremy Hollowell had 15 to lead Georgia State (1-2), which also got 13 points from D'Marcus Simonds.
''Give (Georgia State) a lot of credit,'' Mathias said. ''They are a good team. Something we've got to learn is to not take anyone lightly.''
Georgia State led 56-44 on a Malik Benlevi basket with 7:08 remaining, but Purdue pulled even at 56 on two Haas free throws with 3:57 remaining.
Coming off an emotional 79-76 loss to national champion and No. 3 Villanova on Monday night, the Boilermakers were flat throughout most of the game's first 33 minutes before salvaging a victory with tenacious defense during the final seven minutes.
Georgia State's active zone limited Purdue to 37.8 percent field goal shooting (17 of 45), including 5 of 22 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Boilermakers, 35-26. But Purdue outscored Georgia State 25-7 at the free throw line.
''When you are playing a really good team, you've got to take something away,'' Georgia State coach Ron Hunter said. ''You look at the numbers with their inside guys, and you want to take something away from that. I thought we did a really good job to corrall Swanigan to 19 and Haaas to 11.''
Hollowell had 13 points and three assists in the first half to help Georgia State to a 30-27 advantage.
Swanigan had 12 points and five rebounds at halftime, but no other Boilermakers scored more than four during the opening 20 minutes when taller Purdue was outrebounded, 18-15.
The Boilermakers stayed close by outscoring Georgia State 10-4 from the free throw line.
BIG PICTURE:
Georgia State: Coach Ron Hunter's team has averaged 20 victories during his five seasons at the school, and the Panthers proved again Friday night why they will be a strong candidate for an NCAA tournament berth.
Purdue: While the Boilermakers finally wore Georgia State down, Purdue's backcourt weaknesses were revealed, making only two of their first 18 attempts from 3-point range and failing to pound the ball inside effectively against the smaller Panthers.
FOUL PLAY
In trying to contain Swanigan and Haas, Georgia State's Willie Clayton, Isaiah Dennis and Malik Benlevi all fouled out before the second half's 9:30 mark. Georgia State was called for 31 fouls while Purdue was called for 16.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
What will voters do with No. 15 Purdue after the Boilermakers played so well in Monday's loss to Villanova and then played poorly for the first 33 minutes against Georgia State before closing the game with a 20-0 run.
UP NEXT:
Georgia State: The Panthers will play the NJIT on Tuesday in the Cancun Challenge.
Purdue: The Boilermakers head to Cancun, Mexico to play against Utah State.
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Barford scores 17 to lead Arkansas past UT Arlington
By KURT VOIGT
AP Sports Writer
Nov. 18, 2016
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Jaylen Barford was accustomed to pretty much scoring at will a season ago in junior college when he led the nation with an average of 26.2 points per game.
The junior guard is starting to look right at home in his first season at Arkansas, scoring a career-best 17 points in helping the Razorbacks (3-0) rally for a 71-67 win over UT Arlington on Friday night.
Barford added six rebounds, but it was his three second-half steals - two of which ended with dunks - that sparked a 20-2 run to open the second half by Arkansas. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 9.5 points in his first two games for the Razorbacks, but Friday was nothing short of his coming-out party.
''I know my team needed me,'' Barford said. ''In the first two games, it probably looked like I was very bad, but I think I'm getting comfortable and acclimated to the team. I'm just having fun and playing free.''
Anton Beard added 12 points off the bench and Dusty Hannahs added 11 for Arkansas, which shot 50 percent (12 of 24) in the second half after a disappointing 9-of-29 effort (31 percent) in the first half.
Erick Neal had 15 points to lead the Mavericks (1-3), who have now lost three straight games after leading at halftime. Drew Charles also finished in double figures with 11 for UT Arlington, while Jalen Jones had 10.
The Mavericks committed 12 of their 18 turnovers in the second half, and they hit only 8 of 28 shots (28.6 percent) in the second half.
''They did a great job of creating some steals in the halfcourt,'' UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. ''... They're a good basketball team, and our guys hung with them for 40 minutes.''
After a pair of convincing wins to open the season, Arkansas appeared anything but convincing in the first half against the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference.
The Mavericks, after back-to-back losses at Minnesota and Florida Gulf Coast, led the Razorbacks by as many as 17 points in the first half before settling for a 43-32 edge at halftime. UT Arlington hit 8 of its 15 3-point attempts in the half, with Charles connecting on all three of his shots from behind the arc.
Arkansas, meanwhile, hit just 5 of its first 21 shots and finished 9 of 29 (31 percent) in the half.
The Razorbacks used their fast second-half start to build a 52-45 lead midway through the second half, with Barford scoring three times after steals and Beard capping the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Arkansas led 69-67 in the final minute when Barford was fouled. The junior make both free throws to put the Razorbacks up 71-67, and they kept UT Arlington from scoring on the other end as time expired.
''I think eventually he will (be a leading man),'' Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said about Barford. ''I think you kind of saw him take command out on the floor ... I think he's a guy who can facilitate and make plays, whether it be for himself or for others.''
BIG PICTURE
On a night when Southeastern Conference preseason Player of the Year Moses Kingsley struggled with foul trouble and had only five points, Arkansas might have found the co-leading man it was looking for - on both ends of the court - in Barford. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 26.2 points per game in junior college last season, but his defensive activity is what the Razorbacks desperately needed.
BEARD IS BACK
After missing the first semester last season and following his arrest on forgery charges and struggling when he returned, Beard appears to have regained the form that made him an All-SEC freshman performer two seasons ago. The junior finished with 12 points off the bench for the second time in three games, and he hit several shots with the shot clock winding down to help Arkansas rally for the win on Friday.
UP NEXT
After a three-game road trip, UT Arlington returns home to host St. Francis on Monday night.
The Razorbacks play their first road game of the season at Minnesota on Tuesday night.