Tuesday, November 15, 2017
Georgia State 75, Rice 54
HOUSTON-Led by 18 points from junior Jeff Thomas, Georgia State cruised to a 75-54 win over Rice on Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse in the first game of the MGM Grand Main Event.
Sophomore D’Marcus Simonds who recorded the first triple-double in school history on Friday finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Panthers forced Rice (0-2) in 23 turnovers.
Georgia State improved to 2-0 for the second time in three years and 9-4 against teams from Conference USA in the last four-plus seasons.
Thomas knocked down three 3-pointers as the Panthers made 11 on the night. Junior Malik Benlevi added 11 points, including three 3-pointers, while Isaiah Williams came off the bench to added nine points including three treys.
“This is a really good win on the road,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Our defense really stepped up tonight to force 23 turnovers. Offensively, we are still not clicking the way I expect us to, but I know that will come around.”
Georgia State came out strong defensively forcing Rice to miss its first six shots, while also forcing four turnovers before the Owls scored their first point with 13:46 to play in the opening half.
After Rice tied the game 5-5, Georgia State used a 20-3 run to build a 25-8 lead with 6:14 to play in the half. The Panthers continued to push the tempo and went into halftime leading 42-25, forcing Rice into 12 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Georgia State continued to push the pace in the second half, leading by as many as 26 points with 6:21 to play. The Panthers finished the game shooting 46.0 percent, holding Rice to just 35.7 percent from the floor.
The Owls were led by Ako Adams who finished with 10 points and six rebounds. A.J. Lapray scored a team-high 12 points.
Senior Jordan Session filled up the box score with five points, four rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot, while junior Devin Mitchell added eight points.
Georgia State will continue the MGM Grand Main Event on Friday at Ole Miss. Tip is set for 7 p.m. ET as the game will air live on SEC Network+.
Hunter will enter Friday night looking for the 400th win of his career after becoming Georgia State’s all-time career wins leader last season. He is one of just seven NCAA Division I coaches to be the winningest coach at multiple schools.
Louisiana 113, Louisiana College 58
LAFAYETTE – P.J. Hardy scored 13 of his career-high 19 points in the second half and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns placed six players in double figures in cruising to a 113-58 victory over Louisiana College on Tuesday at the Cajundome.
JaKeenan Gant scored 17 points with nine rebounds and four blocks as 11 players who dressed for Louisiana (1-1) entered the scoring column while the Ragin’ Cajuns reached the 100-point mark in their third straight home opener. Freshman Cedric Russell added 15 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Frank Bartley scoring 14, Justin Miller 12 and Bryce Washington 12.
Louisiana used a 21-2 run midway in the first half to stake a 32-8 lead that was capped by a 3-pointer by Hardy, who finished 7-for-11 from the field and 5-for-8 from behind the 3-point line. The Ragin’ Cajuns led 57-25 at halftime as Bartley scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting with Miller adding eight points and six boards.
Miller helped Louisiana push its lead to 75-34 with a pair of free throws with 13:12 remaining in the contest before a fastbreak dunk by Gant gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a, 89-38 lead with 8:12 left.
Louisiana finished 42-for-69 (60.9 percent) from the floor while going 13-for-26 (50 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 13-for-16 (84.2 percent) from the free throw line. The Ragin’ Cajuns held a 37-29 advantage on the boards with Gant pulling down a game-high nine to narrowly miss his first career double-double.
Hardy added a career-high five assists for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Marcus Stroman dishing out four with Malik Marquetti and Larenz Stalcup recording three.
Defensively, Louisiana limited the Wildcats to 17-for-45 (37.8 percent) aim from the floor, 1-for-10 from behind the 3-point line while forcing 30 turnovers.
Devon Washington led Division III Louisiana College, which was playing the game as an exhibition, with 15 points. Lashard Powell added nine points for the Wildcats with D’Aaron Davis pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
Louisiana will return to action on Friday (Nov. 17) when it plays host to Savannah State in a 4 p.m. contest at the Cajundome.
Memphis 70, Little Rock 62
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Little Rock gave Memphis everything it could handle, leading for nearly 32 minutes of the game and by as many as 14. But the Trojans couldn't survive a late Tiger charge, dropping a 70-62 decision to Memphis at the FedEx Forum.
Leading 51-48 with 7:47 to play, a power surge in the Forum wiped out press row, forcing an extended delay to get everything up and running. The delay proved to swing momentum in Memphis' favor with the Tigers outscored the Trojans 13-2 over the next four minutes, taking their first lead of the game as Little Rock went over three minutes without a basket. A three from Anthony Black at the 2:47 mark cut the Memphis lead to 61-56, but the upset attempt came up short.
Two players that registered their first career starts had strong showings for the Trojans as freshman Jaizec Lottie lead Little Rock in both points (12) and assists (four) with junior Camron Reedus adding 11 points and a pair of assists.
Junior Anthony Black was the third Trojan to finish in double digits, posting a career-best 10 points, with senior Wadly Mompremier finishing with seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks in 24 minutes for Little Rock.
Little Rock shot 44.2 percent for the game while holding Memphis to 41.8 percent from the floor, and were efficient from the free throw line, hitting nine of 12 attempts. Three point shooting once again hurt the Trojans, hitting just seven of 23 attempts, but Little Rock outrebounded Memphis 31-28 and once again held an advantage in the paint, besting the Tigers 30-28.
The opening 12 minutes couldn't have been scripted better for Little Rock as the Trojans built a 21-7 lead on the host Tigers. Little Rock hit eight of its first 11 shots and forced seven Memphis turnovers, leading from the opening basket of the game.
A 10-2 run by Memphis cut the Little Rock lead to 23-17 and the Trojans and Tigers, aided by offensive fouls on three-straight Little Rock possessions. The two teams exchanged blows over the final six minutes with the Trojans taking a 32-27 lead into the intermission.
Memphis made a run early in the second half, cutting the deficit to one on multiple occasions, but key shots from the Trojans kept Little Rock in the lead through the opening 13 minutes of the second half. Little Rock led by as many as five near the 10 minute mark before the power delay.
Junior Oliver Black and sophomore Andre Jones each added six points and combined for 13 rebounds (seven for Black and six for Jones).
The game marked the closest contest between the two schools in the six-game series, tying the eight-point deficit in 2008 when the Trojans fell 59-51.
Little Rock's road doesn't get any easier as the Trojans head west to continue their three-game road swing. The first stop is in Phoenix, Arizona, for a date with Grand Canyon on Saturday, November 18. Opening tip against the Lopes is set for 8 p.m. CT from Grand Canyon Arena.
Lamar 66, Coastal Carolina 60
Beaumont, Texas - Jaylen Shaw scored 17 points, but it was not enough as Coastal Carolina fell 66-60 at Lamar.
The second half turned out to be the difference of the game. After shooting 52 percent in the opening half, CCU cooled off to 33 percent in the second half as Lamar was able to make up a seven-point halftime deficit and pull out the victory.
Ajay Sanders scored 13 points joining Shaw as the only double-digit scorers for CCU.
Zac Cuthbertson scored nine points and had a game-high eight rebounds and Matt Lindsey added nine points.
The Chants did not shoot the ball well at the free throw line only hitting six of their 12 attempts. CCU also had 19 turnovers that led to 20 points for Lamar.
James Harrison came off the bench to provide a spark for the Cardinal with 17 points. He hit all five of his three-point attempts, including three consecutive to help cut a 12-point CCU lead down to three.
Josh Nzaekor and Ziori Bosha also had 12 points each to help Lamar's offensive efforts.
The Chants took a 35-28 lead into the locker room at halftime buoyed by Shaw's 14 first half points. CCU shot 52 percent from the field and hit six of its 13 three point attempts.
CCU also out rebounded Lamar 17-14 with Cuthbertson and Sanders leading the way with four each.
The score could have been much worse, but the Cardinal were able to stay in the game by getting to the free throw line. Lamar shot 17 free throws to only three for CCU. Lamar hit 11.
Nzeakor scored eight to lead Lamar in the opening 20 minutes.
CCU will now make the trip to Nassau for the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase for three games, before returning home for a Nov. 21 game against St. Andrews. CCU opens up play in the Showcase against Texas San Antonio Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.