Little Rock beats Texas State 73-68; clinches Sun Belt title
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 21 points and Little Rock held back Texas State's late rally for a 73-68 victory on Saturday night to clinch its first outright Sun Belt Conference title.
The Trojans (26-3, 16-2) have won five straight and have matched their best record in program history with two regular season games remaining.
Mareik Isom added 16 points and Josh Hagins had 11 points and seven assists for Little Rock, which entered the game having secured their first-ever No. 1 seed and a double-bye in the conference tournament.
Emani Gant scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Bobcats (12-14, 6-11), who had its two-game win streak snapped.
The Trojans led 62-48 with six minutes remaining, and Texas State answered with an 18-7 run to pull to 69-66 with 32 seconds left. Isom answered with two free throws and Roger Woods had a dunk to seal it.
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Streaking UL Monroe beats Troy 66-51
TROY, Ala. (AP) Majok Deng scored 16 points and Nick Coppola added 14 to spark UL Monroe past Troy 66-51 on Saturday, pushing its win streak to seven in a row and 11 of its last 12.
The streaking Warhawks (17-12, 13-5 Sun Belt) have clinched a berth into the conference tournament along with Little Rock (15-2) with two games left in the regular season.
The Warhawks took an early lead on a Justin Roberson 3-pointer and edged away to a 32-24 halftime lead before pulling away on a 19-11 run during an 11-minute stretch of the second half, to lead 60-42.
Troy's Wesley Person needed 32 minutes but canned a 3-pointer, extending his nation-leading streak to 58 games, but Troy's field-goal percentage slumped to 23 percent after halftime as UL Monroe pulled away.
John Walton III scored 18 points and freshman Jordon Varnado added 16 for the Trojans (9-20, 4-14), who were eliminated from the tournament.
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South Alabama charges back to beat Louisiana Lafayette, 83-70
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Ken Williams scored 25 points and added five assists to help lead South Alabama to an 83-70 win over UL Lafayette on Saturday.
Nick Stover added 13 points and Shaq Calhoun finished with 11 for South Alabama (13-16, 8-10 Sun Belt).
South Alabama shot 49 percent from the field while holding the Ragin' Cajuns to just 38 percent. The Jaguars also outscored UL Lafayette 35-12 off the bench.
Shawn Long scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns (15-12, 11-7). Bryce Washington added 14 points and nine boards.
UL Lafayette led 32-26 at the half, but South Alabama battled back for a 44-42 lead on a Don MuepoKelly jumper with 12:12 left. That jumper by MuepoKelly sparked a 16-2 Jaguars run, putting them in front 58-44 with 8:05 remaining.
The Ragin' Cajuns never threatened again, and a Calhoun jam in the final minute gave South Alabama its largest lead (80-62).
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UT Arlington fends off Arkansas State 79-75
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Nick Pallas scored 14 points and Kaelon Wilson and Kennedy Eubanks each scored 13 points as UT Arlington defeated Arkansas State 79-75 on Saturday night.
Donte Thomas made 1 of 2 free throws with 9:30 to play and broke a 55-all tie. He followed with a jumper to make it 58-55. Wilson's 3-point play knotted the score.
Eric Neal later hit a 3 with 5:45 to play and UT Arlington (19-9, 10-7 Sun Belt Conference) led 66-62. Drew Charles hit a layup a little more than two minutes later and the Mavericks led 71-65.
The Red Wolves cut the deficit to 3, and Wilson missed two free throws with 10 seconds to play. But Devin Carter couldn't connect on his 3-point attempt with six seconds left. Wilson hit 1 of 2 free throws with a second left to seal the win.
Carter scored 24 for Arkansas State (11-18, 7-11) and Donte Thomas added 19.
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Georgia State controls Appalachian State in 83-70 win
ATLANTA (AP) Jeremy Hollowell scored 18 points, and Isaiah Williams and Kevin Ware added 14 apiece to send Georgia State past Appalachian State 83-70 on Saturday.
Georgia State (15-12, 8-10 Sun Belt) entered the game in a three-way tie for sixth place in conference with South Alabama and Arkansas State.
Panthers coach Ron Hunter now has 102 career wins, one behind Charles ''Lefty'' Driesell and five back of all-time leader Bob Reinhart.
Ronshad Shabazz had 23 points for Appalachian State (7-22, 5-13). He made a 3 early to give the Mountaineers a 10-3 lead, but the Panthers responded with an 18-5 run, and took a 24-15 lead on a Ware jumper.
Jordan Session hit a jumper to stretch the lead to 34-18 with 6:45 left in the first half, and the Panther led 49-30 at the break.
The Mountaineers trailed by double digits the rest of the way.