Brown has 29 points to lead Ga. Southern to 78-69 win
KENNESAW, Ga. -- Tookie Brown scored 29 points as Georgia Southern held off in-state rival Kennesaw State for a 78-69 win on Tuesday night.
Brown hit 11 of 15 from the floor while dishing out five assists. Montae Glenn and Mike Hughes had 12 apiece for Georgia Southern (9-3) which has won four of its last five games.
Kennesaw State (2-9) made four more treys than the Eagles but Georgia Southern finished with three more field goals and made seven more free throws than the Owls.
Coye Simmons finished the first half with a dunk to give Georgia Southern a 41-28 halftime advantage.
James Scott scored seven straight points to start the second period as Kennesaw State rallied to close to 62-60. Hughes responded with a 3-point play and the Eagles cruised home.
Nick Masterson and Scott had 23 and 21 points, respectively, for the Owls.
Gant, Washington lift Louisiana past SE Louisiana 82-74
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Jakeenan Gant and Bryce Washington led a balanced attack with double-doubles and Louisiana renewed an old rivalry on Tuesday night, defeating Southeastern Louisiana 82-74.
Gant had 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds and Washington scored 12 with 11 boards as six players scored in double figures for the Ragin' Cajuns (10-2), who are off to their best start since opening 11-2 in 1993-94.
Marlain Veal had 23 points for the Lions (6-6).
The last time the in-state foes met was in 1984, their only meeting since 1972 in a series that dates back to 1947. Louisiana leads 32-20.
The Lions made five straight baskets, taking a 27-14 lead on Eddy Polanco's layup 8:22 before the half. Starting with four free throws from Frank Bartley, Louisiana scored the next 17 with Washington accounting for eight, including the last six, and led 31-29 at the half.
An 8-2 run gave the Lions a 39-38 lead but Gant had a 3 and a dunk in a 9-0 run and the Ragin' Cajuns stayed ahead by shooting 55 percent from the floor and making 13 of 18 free throws.
King has double-double, Texas State routs Ecclesia 85-43
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Immanuel King scored 14 points and grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds to lead Texas State in an 85-43 rout of Ecclesia on Tuesday night.
King was 7 of 12 from the field. Alex Peacock and Nijal Pearson each added 11 points for Texas State (6-6), which snapped a two-game losing skid.
Milacio Freeland scored 12 points to lead Ecclesia, which was 13-of-64 shooting (20 percent).
Texas State shot 36 of 77 from the field, but missed 14 3-pointers. All 13 Texas State players scored and had at least one rebound. The Bobcats had 21 assists, with 12 recording at least one, and they outrebounded the Royals 64-35. Pearson and Tyler Blount each led with five assists.
It was the first meeting between the Bobcats and Ecclesia, a NCCAA Division I independent program from Springdale, Arkansas.
No. 11 Wichita State beats Arkansas State 89-80
WICHITA, Kan. -- As No. 11 Wichita State went to the locker room for halftime Tuesday night, there were some dumbfounded looks. The Shockers had just allowed at least 50 first-half points for the third straight home game and trailed Arkansas State.
Senior guard Zach Brown was fed up.
"Zach asked `Do we want to be known as the best offensive team in Wichita State history or the worst defensive team in Wichita State history?," Shockers guard Landry Shamet said. "It means a lot to our guys to be better than that."
The Shockers finally were, using Samajae Haynes-Jones' 27 points to outlast Arkansas State 89-80.
Shamet scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half for Wichita State (9-2). Darral Willis had 18 points, and Shaquille Morris added 10.
Deven Simms scored 30 points for Arkansas State (4-8), a 29-point underdog. Ty Cockfield had 16 points for the Red Wolves.
The Shockers trailed 57-48 with 17:11 remaining before rallying behind Haynes-Jones and Shamet.
For Haynes-Jones, the performance was doubly satisfying. He has been dealing with a stomach issue for nearly three weeks, causing him to miss one game and account for just one point combined in the last three he did play.
"I just didn't feel the same," he said. "I started throwing up, and I had to figure out what it was. I finally got the right med."
The game was still in doubt in the final minutes. A technical foul assessed on Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall during a timeout with 3:12 remaining resulted in four free throws by Simms. He made all of them to cut the Shockers' lead to 83-78.
That lead was down to four when Haynes-Jones hit a 3-pointer with 2:08 to play. A tough basket by Shamet 53 seconds later finally allowed the Shockers to feel comfortable.
Arkansas State fired its way to a 50-44 halftime lead, shooting 62.1 percent and going 10 of 16 from the 3-point line in the half. Simms (15 points) and Cockfield (13 points) were a combined 10 of 15 from the field in the half.
"We gave up 50 in the first half and really just 28 in the second half if you take away the points for my technical," Marshall said. "And we didn't change a thing defensively. Law of averages, I guess."
Taylor scores 27, helps Austin Peay hold off Troy 75-73
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Terry Taylor scored seven of his 27 points in the final three minutes, and Austin Peay held off Troy for a 75-73 victory on Tuesday night.
Taylor made a layup, 3-point play and jump shot during a 7-2 surge to give the Governors a 70-65 lead with 1:22 to play. Wesley Person made 6 of 7 free throws to pull Troy to 74-73 with 15 seconds left. Dayton Gumm made the second of two free-throw attempts, but Troy's B.J. Miller missed a layup at the buzzer.
Taylor was 11 of 17 from the floor. Averyl Ugba added 16 points and Zach Glotta had 12 for Austin Peay (5-6).
Wesley Person scored 28 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and made 11 of 13 free throws to lead Troy (5-7), which shot 52 percent and 22 of 24 (92 percent) from the line, but missed nine 3-pointers and committed 20 turnovers.