Baker, Person help Troy hold on for 92-84 win over Cornell
LAS VEGAS (AP) Kevin Baker and Wesley Person combined to score 29 second-half points and Troy held on for a 92-84 win over Cornell on Thursday at the Las Vegas Classic.
Person had 17 of his 19 points after halftime and Baker finished with 15 points. DeVon Walker scored 14 points and Jeremy Hollimon added 12, Alex Hicks 11 and Jordon Varnado 10.
Troy (7-6) opened the game with a 15-2 run and back-to-back 3-pointers by Matt Morgan gave Cornell its first lead, 58-57, with 13:35 to play. Person answered with a 3 and Troy didn't trail again.
Morgan made it 62-all on a layup with 10:11 remaining but Cornell (2-8) made just one of its next 10 shots and the Trojans led 76-66 with 3:28 left. Troy made 14 of 16 free throws from there to seal it.
Morgan scored 27, including a career-high-tying seven 3s, and Stone Gettings hit a career-best five 3-pointers and scored 22 for Cornell.
The Big Red made 16 3s, their most since hitting 16 against Western Michigan on Nov. 29, 2013, but made just 10 of 18 free throws. Troy hit 26 of 33 foul shots and scored 20 points off 14 Cornell turnovers.
----------
UTA holds off Loyola Marymount 80-77
LOS ANGELES (AP) Kevin Hervey scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as UTA held off a late Loyola Marymount charge to pick up its ninth straight win, beating the Lions 80-77 on Thursday night.
Kaelon Wilson blocked a 3-point jumper by Erick Johansson to maintain UTA's 77-75 lead with 1:32 left. Drew Charles then drilled a 3 for an 80-75 advantage. Loyola Marymount's Buay Tuach answered with a layup but missed a 3-point attempt with two seconds left and Steven Haney missed a trey as time expired.
UTA led throughout the second half and was up 57-47 at the 12:47 mark. The Lions closed to 68-62 with 7:30 left.
Jalen Jones had 15 points, Drew Charles added 14 and Jorge Bilbao chipped in 12 for the Mavericks (10-3), who have not lost since falling to Arkansas 71-67 on November 18.
Brandon Brown had 22 points and 11 assists to lead Loyola Marymount (6-4).
----------
Georgia Southern rolls to 106-58 victory over NAIA Fisk
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Tookie Brown scored 20 points and Georgia Southern completed its nonconference schedule with a 106-58 victory over Fisk on Thursday.
Brown was 8-of-14 shooting with three 3-pointers while Montae Glenn added 14 points, Ike Smith 13 and Mike Hughes 11 for the Eagles (7-6), who have won three of their last four. Shawn O'Connell grabbed 11 of Georgia Southern's 55 rebounds.
The Eagles made 14 3-pointers on 40 attempts and scored 34 points off 21 Fisk turnovers, 12 coming on steals. The 106 points are a season high.
The NAIA Bulldogs were led by 17 points from David Patton. RJ Scott added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Glenn had 14 points and Smith and Brown 13 each in the first half when the Eagles shot 50 percent and took a 50-24 lead. The Eagles led by 28 when they went on a 13-0 run to lead 82-41 with 9:36 remaining.
----------
Brooks scores 16, sparks 17-2 run, VCU tops ULM 78-65
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Doug Brooks made 5 of 6 3-pointers and ignited a game-winning 17-2 run midway through the second half and Virginia Commonwealth rallied to defeat ULM 78-65 on Thursday night.
With VCU down 46-42 with 13:12 to play, Brooks hit a 3 and grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Moe Allie-Cox for a layup to put the Rams ahead. Brooks hit another trey, Cox added two free throws and then Brookes fed JeQuan Lewis to make it 54-46.
The Warhawks stopped the run with a pair from the line but Brooks followed with a steal and assist to Samire Doughty and a 3-pointer, making it 59-48 at 9:01.
Allie-Cox finished with 16 points, half from a perfect night at the foul line, and Lewis had 14 for the Rams (9-3). Brooks finished with a career-high six assists and four steals, three during the run.
Jordan Harris and Sam McDaniel, who also had 10 rebounds, scored 15 each for the Warhawks (5-7).
----------
Ole Miss beats South Alabama 92-58
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) There was no celebrating Thursday night for the Mississippi Rebels, despite an impressive 92-58 win over South Alabama, highlighted by Sebastian Saiz's 23-point, 16-rebound performance.
''There were moments we looked like a good team and that was encouraging,'' Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy said. ''We're improving and it's time. The schedule is about to get real very quickly.''
The Rebels (9-3) host No. 6 Kentucky Thursday in the SEC opener, followed by consecutive road games at Florida and Auburn.
DeAndre Burnett scored 21 points, Justas Furmanavicius had 13, Cullen Neal added 11 and Terence Davis had 10 points to lead Ole Miss (9-3). The Rebels had 23 assists, nine by Neal.
The Rebels shot 29 of 59 (49 percent), including 8 of 22 from 3-point range, and outrebounded South Alabama 50-35.
Nick Stover and Georgi Boyanov led South Alabama (7-6) with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Don MuepoKelly had 10 rebounds.
The Jags trailed 46-26 at halftime and managed only 19-of-66 shooting (29 percent), including 5 of 23 from 3-point range.
''Our defense kept us in it until late in the first half,'' said South Alabama coach Matthew Graves, whose club opened 3 of 23 from the field.
''There comes a point where you have to score baskets and that came late for us. Our guys will keep fighting.''
The Jaguars battled to within 61-48 midway through the second half, but Ole Miss ran off 19 straight points over five minutes to erase any doubt.
BIG PICTURE
South Alabama: The Jaguars had early wins against UNLV and Florida International, but have struggled since Thanksgiving, going 2-6. South Alabama opened Thursday night's game 3 of 23 from the field and never seriously threatened.
Ole Miss: Picked ninth in the preseason SEC media poll, the guard-rich Rebels have quietly put together a 9-3 nonconference record. In the past five seasons, Ole Miss has finished higher than what they were picked in the preseason media poll. The Rebels are 4-1 in December.
BENCH STRENGTH
Burnett and Furmanavicius had strong reserve performances along with Rasheed Brooks - best known for his shooting skills - with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
''Justas really gave us an energy boost,'' Kennedy said. ''For the first time, he finished plays in traffic and he got on the defensive boards better. We're going to need that.''
FASHION STATEMENT
Kennedy, at 6-foot-7, normally makes conservative clothing choices, but broke out a loud, red-plaid, Christmas-themed sports coat which reminded reporters of former Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson's traditional plaid attire in sports coats.
''I'm the new spokesperson for scotch guard plaid sports coats,'' said a smiling Kennedy, who showed off the brightly colored coat in the postgame press conference. ''I think it looks pretty good.''
UP NEXT
South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference play by hosting Troy on Jan. 2.
Ole Miss hosts No. 6 Kentucky on Thursday to open the SEC season, followed by road trips to Florida and Auburn, all of which should go a long way in revealing just how good this team can be.