UT Arlington beats UL Lafayette 84-83 in OT
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Jalen Jones made a game-winning 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in overtime to give UT Arlington an 84-83 victory over UL Lafayette on Thursday night for its fourth-straight win.
Jones made four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead the Mavericks (18-7, 9-5 Sun Belt Conference). Kaelon Wilson scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Erick Neal chipped in 19 points and had six assists.
Shawn Long matched a season-high with 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting and had 18 rebounds to lead UL Lafayette (14-10, 10-5).
Long made a 3-pointer as part of a 6-2 spurt to open overtime and give the Ragin' Cajuns a 78-74 lead with three minutes left. The Mavericks' Drew Charles made a 3 and Wilson tipped in a shot to tie it at 81. UL Lafayette's Bryce Washington answered with a layup before Jones hit the game-winner.
Long missed a 3-point attempt with three seconds left to end it.
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Little Rock rallies late to defeat Georgia State 57-49
ATLANTA (AP) Marcus Johnson, Jr. hit a 3-pointer and Josh Hagins followed with a 3-point play as conference-leading Arkansas Little Rock took its first lead of the game five minutes after halftime then held off Georgia State 57-49 on Thursday night.
Johnson scored 14 points and Lis Shoshi added 11 with 16 rebounds as the Trojans overcame a double-digit Georgia State lead with a 14-1 run a few minutes after halftime. Hagins finished with seven points and three assists.
Despite their own shooting woes - 22 of 58 for 38 percent - the Trojans (23-3, 13-2 Sun Belt) clamped down to hold Georgia State to just five field goals and 23 percent shooting in the come-from-behind second half.
Jeremy Hollowell led the Eagles (13-11, 6-9) with 12 points, Jordan Session added 11 - tying his career high in 16 minutes of the first half. Georgia State led by as many as 14 before halftime.
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UL Monroe beats Texas State 76-57
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Justin Roberson had 21 points on Thursday night and UL Monroe moved into a second-place tie in the Sun Belt Conference with a 76-57 win over Texas State.
Majok Deng added 16 points and Nick Coppola scored 15 for the Warhawks (14-12, 10-5), who went unthreatened after opening to a 24-6 lead with 8:39 left in the first.
UL Monroe led 39-20 at the half and had its largest lead at 69-43 with 7:01 to play. The Warhawks tied UL Lafayette in the standings - three games behind Little Rock (13-2) - after the Ragin' Cajuns lost 84-83 to UT Arlington on Thursday night.
Cameron Naylor had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Emani Gant added 14 points and Ethan Montalvo 13 for the Bobcats (10-13, 4-10).
Texas State had an 8-0 run early in the second half that got the Bobcats as close as they would get at 43-28.
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Georgia Southern routs Arkansas State 90-59
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Mike Hughes scored 18 points, Jake Allsmiller added 17 and Georgia Southern routed Arkansas State 90-59 on Thursday night.
Tookie Brown had 15 points, and Ike Smith and Montae Glenn chipped in 10 apiece for Georgia State (13-11, 6-9 Sun Belt Conference), which bounced back from an 80-76 loss at South Alabama on Feb. 13 that had snapped a four-game winning streak.
Devin Carter made five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field to lead Arkansas State (11-15, 7-8), which has lost four straight.
Georgia Southern had a double-digit lead midway through the first half and built a 49-22 halftime lead. Allsmiller made five 3-pointers and Hughes had 10 points in the first half.
Hughes made a 3-pointer and the Eagles had a 39-point lead with 16 minutes left.
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South Alabama edges Appalachian State 75-71
BOONE, N.C. (AP) Ken Williams scored 27 points, including the go-ahead jumper late, and South Alabama edged Appalachian State 75-71 on Thursday night.
A pair of Frank Eaves free throws put Appalachian State up by one at 69-68 with 1:51 to go. Williams made a jumper on the next possession to flip the lead.
Barrington Stevens then sank a pair form the line with 25 seconds left to give South Alabama (12-15, 7-9 Sun Belt) a three-point lead. After a Mountaineers' miss, Nick Stover added two more to make it a five-point game with 10 seconds left.
Eaves made a layup to cut it to three, but Shaq Calhoun made 1 of 2 free throws and Ronshad Shabazz missed a 3-pointer with four seconds left.
Eaves led Appalachian State (6-20, 4-11) with 27 points.