Little Rock holds off UT Arlington 72-60
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Josh Hagins scored 17 points, Lis Shoshi added 13 and Little Rock clinched at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title with a 72-60 win over UT Arlington on Thursday night.
Leading 36-25 at the break, Little Rock (25-3, 15-2) had to hold off a UT Arlington surge that twice pulled the Mavericks to within two early in the second half, including a layup from Nick Pallas that made it 43-41 with 14:04 left. The Trojans responded with a 6-1 spurt, capped by Kemy Osse's 3-pointer, to stretch the advantage and the Trojans protected it down the stretch.
Mareik Isom had 11 points to go with seven rebounds and Roger Woods had 10 points for Little Rock, which shot 47 percent (26-55) and was 10 for 19 from 3-point range.
UT Arlington (18-9, 9-7) was paced by Jalen Jones' 13 points, and Erick Neal added 12.
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Samuel leads UL Monroe to 66-59 win over S. Alabama
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Jamaal Samuel, who finished with 15 points, slammed home a dunk in the final seconds to secure UL Monroe's 66-59 win over South Alabama on Thursday night.
UL Monroe (16-12, 12-5 Sun Belt Conference), which has won six straight, had a 39-27 halftime advantage and was up 44-36 at the 14:30-mark. The Jaguars rallied as Georgi Boyanov scored five points to start a 16-8 run and tie the game at 52 with 4:37 left. Nick Coppola answered with a layup and Louisiana-Monroe pushed its lead to 62-55. The Warhawks made their last five shots from the floor to seal the win.
Coppola had 14 points, Majok Deng added 13 and Justin Roberson had 11 for UL Monroe.
Ken Williams led South Alabama (12-16, 7-10) with 14 points, Boyanov added 13 with nine boards and three blocks, and Don MuepoKelly chipped in a career-high 12 points.
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UL Lafayette rallies to beat Troy 73-63 behind Long
TROY, Ala. (AP) Shawn Long scored 29 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for the second 20-rebound game of his career and UL Lafayette rallied to beat Troy 73-63 on Thursday night.
Long had five of UL Lafayette's 10 blocks, notching the 260th block of his career to set a school record.
In third place in the Sun Belt standings, the Ragin' Cajuns swept the season series against the Trojans and ended a three-game skid.
Steven Wronkoski and Tiremone Williams scored 10 points apiece for the Ragin' Cajuns (15-11, 11-6), who shot 42 percent from the field and outscored the Trojans 40-24 in the paint.
Trailing 39-27 at halftime, the Cajuns rallied and took the lead for good, 55-54, on a baseline jumper by Williams and held the Trojans to 21 percent shooting in the second half.
Wesley Person scored 17 points for Troy (9-19, 4-13), Jeremy Hollimon added 11 and John Walton III grabbed 11 rebounds.
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Brown with 18 as Georgia Southern shoots to 88-63 win
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Tookie Brown scored 18 points with seven assists as Georgia Southern defeated Appalachian State 88-63 on Thursday night.
Eleven players scored for Georgia Southern, which shot nearly 60 percent in the first half and trailed for just 18 seconds. Ike Smith added 14 points and Mike Hughes 12 for the Eagles (14-14, 10-8 Sun Belt), who are hanging on to a fifth seed and a first-round road game in the conference tournament.
Georgia Southern scored 23 points off 17 Appalachian State turnovers and finished the game scoring 51.5 percent (34-66).
Frank Eaves scored 13 points and Emarius Logan had 12 to lead Appalachian State (7-21, 5-12), which made just six field goals in the first half and trailed 52-23 at the break, the fourth-fewest points in a first half this season.
The Mountaineers were held to seven assists. Logan, who shot 5-for-11 from the floor, finished in double figures the fourth-straight game.
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Texas State pulls away from Arkansas State 71-60
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Emani Gant scored 21 points and had seven rebounds before fouling out to lead Texas State past Arkansas State 71-60 on Thursday night.
Cameron Naylor scored 14 points and Ethan Montalvo added 13 for Texas State (12-13, 6-10 Sun Belt).
Texas State has now won three of its last four after a five-game losing streak.
Anthony Livingston led Arkansas State (11-17, 7-10) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Red Wolves shot 19 for 60 from the field (32 percent) and have lost six in a row.
The teams were tied at 31 at halftime. Gant hit a jumper, Kavin Gilder-Tilbury connected on a 3 and Gant followed with a layup to make it 47-40 with 10:39 to go.
Naylor hit a jumper with 8:59 remaining to push the lead to 53-43 and the Red Wolves never threatened thereafter.