Little Rock wins Lone Star Showcase championship game
CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) Jalen Jackson scored 24 points, and Arkansas-Little Rock shot 66 percent from the field to beat Central Michigan 91-79 in the Lone Star Showcase championship game on Wednesday night.
Little Rock (4-2) closed on a 10-0 run. Marcus Johnson Jr. made jumpers at 1:46 and 0:59, Jackson and Kemy Osse each added a pair of free throws, and Osse capped the scoring on a layup with 2 seconds left.
Central Michigan (4-2) trailed for the final 18 minutes but closed within 81-79 on Marcus Keene's free throws with 2:06 left. The Chippewas missed their final five shots, four from 3-point range.
Jackson made all eight of his shots from the field, including a pair of 3s, and hit 6 of 7 from the foul line. Osse added 20 points and Johnson and Maurius Hill added 14 points each.
Keene was 6 of 15 from 3-point range and scored 32 for Central Michigan. David DiLeo added 11.
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Bartley IV, Wright lead Louisiana past JMU, 82-70
HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) Frank Bartley IV hit three 3-pointers and scored 28 points, Jay Wright added a career-high 27 points with six assists and Louisiana cruised to an 82-70 win over James Madison on Wednesday.
Bartley made 10 of 16 from the field and had a career-high five steals, Wright hit 10 of 13 shots and Bryce Washington grabbed 12 rebounds.
Trailing by one, Bartley converted a 4-point play and then took a steal coast-to-coast for a layup before hitting Wright for a layup to put Louisiana (3-2) in front for good, 21-14, with 10:57 left in the half.
JMU (0-5) trimmed its deficit to one on a layup by Ivan Lukic 3 minutes later before the Ragin' Cajuns took a 39-31 lead into the break. Wright converted a 3-point play that made it 51-39 with 15:48 left and Louisiana led by double figure the rest of the way.
Jackson Kent scored 16 and Yohanny Dalembert added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Dukes.
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Isaiah Williams scores 18 in Georgia State's Cancun victory
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) Isaiah Williams scored 18 points and Georgia State beat Eastern Kentucky 82-65 on Wednesday to win the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge.
Justin Seymour made 5 of 6 attempts, all from 3-point range, for 15 points, and Malik Benlevi added 11 points and four assists and Willie Clayton 15 rebounds with nine points. The Panthers (3-2) shot 52 percent and made half of their 18 3-point tries.
The Colonels (2-4) shot only 33.3 percent and just 6 of 31 from the arc for 19.4 percent. Nick Mayo was 7-of-11 shooting for 21 points, Asante Gist added 16 points and Zach Charles 10.
The Colonels had a 10-point edge with 14:46 left in the first half before the Panthers took the lead for good with a 14-0 run capped by a basket from Williams.
Georgia State took a 52-42 lead with 16:22 remaining in the game and the lead remained in double figures.
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Shabazz has 28, leads Appalachian State past Hartford 70-61
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Ronshad Shabazz scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Appalachian State to a 70-61 win over Hartford on Wednesday.
Isaac Johnson added 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, all career bests for the freshmen, as the Mountaineers (2-2) took control with a 19-4 run to open the second half for a 51-33 lead.
Shabazz started the run with a 3-point play and scored seven more points before Jason Dunne ended Hartford's drought with a 3-pointer at the 12-minute mark.
The Hawks (1-4) had a 10-2 run to get within seven on a Jack Hobbs 3-pointer with 7:57 to play. Dunne had a 3-point play with 2:53 to go to make it a five-point game and later made a jumper to make it 63-59 at 1:03. Shabazz answered with four-straight free throws to hold off the Hawks.
Dunne finished with career highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds for Hartford.
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UTA outlasts Mount St. Mary's 80-71
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Jalen Jones scored 18 points and Erick Neal had 13 points and 11 assists to go along with four steals to help lead UTA past Mount St. Mary's 80-71 on Wednesday night.
UTA led 35-34 at halftime before going on an 8-0 run. Elijah Long scored the next five points for Mount St. Mary's before the Mavericks outscored the Mountaineers 20-12 over the next 10 minutes to pad the lead to 63-51 with seven minutes remaining.
In the first half, Long scored the Mountaineers' first six points before UTA's Kevin Hervey buried a 3 which sparked a 14-2 Mavericks run. Miles Wilson's 3-point play and Greg Alexander's corner 3 put Mount St. Mary's up 21-20.
UTA went on a 9-0 run, the Mountaineers countered with a 9-2 run and the Mavericks led at the half.
Long had a career-high 27 points and Wilson also had a career high with 26 points.
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Collins' 20, 11, lead Wake Forest by Coastal Carolina 86-74
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) After nearly squandering a 25-point first-half lead, Wake Forest kicked into another gear midway through the second half before pulling away for an 86-74 win against Coastal Carolina.
John Collins scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the Deacons (5-1)
Brandon Childress came off the bench to score 15 points to go along with four assists, Mitchell Wilbekin added 14 points, and Bryant Crawford finished with 12.
Wake Forest, which led 30-5 at one point in the first half, used a 21-0 run to take command.
Coastal (2-4) clawed its way back in the second half to cut the deficit to 44-40, but the Deacons responded with a 7-0 scoring run and never led by fewer than 11 points the rest of the way. They made 17 of 19 free throws in the second half and 21 of 24 for the game.
The Deacons gave up 51 points in the second half and got sloppy on offense when the Chanticleers made their surge.
''The ball started sticking in guys' hands,'' Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said. ''We've got to be a team that moves the basketball. We have plenty of guys that are capable weapons. But once the ball sticks, we become stagnant, and we become easier to guard.''
Elijah Wilson scored 20 points to lead Coastal, and Colton Ray-St Cyr added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
The Chanticleers got off to a cold start, missing 14 of their first 16 shots and scoring on just two of their first 20 possessions.
''We've been on a grueling road trip and we got off to a slow start,'' Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis said. ''I'd like to attribute it to our legs somewhat. We got good looks, but at the same time, you've got to give some credit to Wake Forest. They can stretch the court, and I think that showed.''
THE BIG PICTURE
Coastal Carolina: Picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference, the Chanticleers showed plenty of fight against the bigger and more athletic Deacons in erasing a 25-point first-half deficit with a barrage of 3-pointers and a 12-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. That should take them a long way once conference play begins.
Wake Forest: The Deacons picked up the win despite some sloppy play early in the second half against an inferior team. The Deacons played well in spurts - especially in the first half - and picked it up again in the second half when things got close. That might bode well for Wake Forest later in the season when it finds itself in another close game, especially during ACC play.
STAT SHEET
Wake Forest, which leads the ACC in 3-pointers and averages 9.6 per game, knocked down 11 more against Coastal Carolina while shooting 42.3 percent from behind the arc. Childress and Wilbekin had three 3's apiece, with Wilbekin tying Josh Howard for 15th all-time with 109 3-pointers made. ... Coastal Carolina had a 15-0 advantage in second-chance points and tied Wake Forest with 41 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Coastal Carolina: After playing their last three games on the road in a span of five days, the Chanticleers return home on Tuesday to play Chattanooga in their first of five straight home games.
Wake Forest: The Deacons will play at Northwestern on Monday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It will be the first meeting between the teams. Wake Forest is 11-4 all-time in the challenge, including a 5-2 record on the road.
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Boyce has double-double, 7 assists; San Francisco beats Troy
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Ronnie Boyce scored 25 points, matched a career-high with 10 rebounds and had a career-best seven assists to lead San Francisco over Troy 79-67 on Wednesday night.
Boyce, who entered averaging 29.5 points, shot 8 of 14 from the floor. Jordan Ratinho and Charles Minlend added 11 points apiece for San Francisco (3-0). Nate Renfro chipped in nine points, and had career-highs of nine rebounds and seven assists.
Wesley Person scored 24 points and made five 3-pointers to lead Troy (2-3). Jordon Varnado had 14 points.
The game was tied 47-47 with about 12 minutes left. The Dons used a 22-11 spurt and led 69-58 with 4:26 remaining. Boyce scored six points during the stretch. The Trojans pulled 70-64 with 2:43 to play but didn't get closer.
It was the first meeting between the schools.