UTA holds off South Alabama's rally for 89-83 win
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Kevin Hervey scored 23 points, Jorge Bilbao had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and UTA held off South Alabama's late rally for an 89-83 win on Monday.
South Alabama went on a 14-5 run to get to 82-76 with 1:41 to go. UTA went empty from the free-throw line on consecutive possessions but South Alabama couldn't take advantage. Hervey made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left for an 84-77 advantage.
Nick Stover followed his missed 3-pointer and threw down a one-handed dunk to get to 84-79 but UTA hit five of its next six free-throw attempts to seal it.
Jalen Jones and Kaelon Wilson added 11 points apiece or UTA (13-5, 3-2 Sun Belt). Hervey also had seven rebounds and four assists.
The Mavericks trailed 43-40 at halftime but turned it around with a 16-0 run for a 73-59 lead.
Josh Ajayi led five South Alabama (9-9, 2-3) players in double figures with 16 points. Georgi Boyanov and Ken Williams scored 13 each, Don MuepoKelly 12 and Stover had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
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Brown, Hughes lead Georgia Southern to 62-60 win over ULM
MONROE, La. (AP) Tookie Brown scored 11 of his 19 points in the final 11:41, Mike Hughes finished with 13 points and Georgia Southern beat ULM 62-60 on Monday night for its sixth win in a row.
Marvin Jean-Pierre made two free throws to give the Warhawks a one-point lead with five minutes left, but Brown scored five points during a 10-3 run that put Georgia Southern ahead 60-54 with 30 seconds to go. Jean-Pierre hit a 3 to cut the deficit in half 12 seconds later, but Brown made two free throws with 14 seconds left and the Eagles (12-6, 5-0 Sun Belt) held on.
Jean-Pierre and Wade Martin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 22-4 run that gave ULM (6-12, 0-5 Sun Belt) a 39-23 lead with 15:32 remaining. Brown hit a 3 that capped a 16-4 run before Hughes made a 3 and then a jumper to cap a 9-0 spurt that put Georgia Southern up 50-49 with 5:53 to play.
Jean-Pierre had 18 points for ULM, which has lost five straight.
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Georgia St. shooting show dumps Louisiana 101-86
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) D'Marcus Simonds and Isaiah Williams both scored 24 points and each made nine field goals to lead hot-shooting Georgia State past Louisiana 101-86 on Monday night.
Simonds was 9-for-14 shooting, Williams was 9 for 16, and Georgia State (10-7, 3-2 Sun Belt) shot 62 percent from the field (36 for 58) including 10 for 19 from 3-point range.
Jeremy Hollowell added 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while Devin Mitchell scored 11 and Malik Benlevi had nine, and they both shot 4 for 5 from the floor. It's the second time this season the Panthers topped 100 points.
Georgia State now is 44-19 in regular season conference games since rejoining the Sun Belt Conference in 2013, the most wins of any school in the league.
Frank Bartley IV led Louisiana (12-6, 2-3) with 19 points and nine rebounds, Bryce Washington's double-double included 18 points and 10 rebounds, Johnathan Stove added 17 points, and Jerekius Davis scored 15 points.
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Texas State holds off late Troy run, wins 75-71
TROY, Ala. (AP) Kavin Gilder-Tilbury led five Texas State players in double-figures with 17 points and the Bobcats held off Troy to earn a 75-71 win on Monday night.
Nijal Pearson scored 15 points, Bobby Conley had 13, and Immanuel King and Ojai Black each chipped in 12 for the Bobcats (10-7, 3-2 Sun Belt), who have won five of seven.
Wesley Person drilled a 3-pointer which gave Troy a 34-33 lead with 14:55 left, but Conley immediately answered with a 3 of his own which gave Texas State a lead which it held the rest of the way.
Maxwell Starwood's free throw gave the Bobcats a game-high 12 point lead (50-38) with 9:36 left. The Trojans (10-9, 2-3) made a late comeback bid, getting to within four with 16 seconds left, but two free throws from Black sealed it.
Devon Walker and Jordon Varnado each scored 14 points for Troy.