Appalachian State beats Texas State 66-62 in Sun Belt opener
BOONE, N.C. -- Ronshad Shabazz scored 20 points, Justin Forrest added 14 points including a key 3-pointer, and Appalachian State closed on a 5-0 surge to beat Texas State 66-62 on Friday night in a Sun Belt opener.
Tre'Larenz Nottingham made a layup and two free throws to give Texas State a 62-61 lead with 1:41 to play. Shabazz split a pair of free throws, Forrest hit a 3 with 18 seconds left, and Isaac Johnson made one of two free throws to seal it for Appalachian State (6-8).
Shabazz was 6 of 16 from the floor and made three 3-pointers. Forrest was just 3-of-12 shooting but made all six of his free-throw attempts. Craig Hintonchipped in 10 points for the Mountaineers.
Nijal Pearson scored 18 points to lead Texas State (7-7). Eric Terry chipped in 12 and Nottingham finished with 10.
Coastal Carolina stuns UT Arlington in Sun Belt opener
CONWAY, S.C. -- Jaylen Shaw totaled 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Coastal Carolina stunned preseason favorite UT Arlington 90-65 on Friday night in a Sun Belt Conference opener.
Artur Labinowicz added 15 points for the Chanticleers (7-7), while reserves Amidou Bamba, Demario Beck and Christian Adams combined to score 37 as the Coastal Carolina bench outscored its counterparts 45-13.
The Chanticleers shut down reigning Sun Belt player of the year Kevin Hervey. Hervey scored seven on 3-of-11 shooting and had just four rebounds after entering the game averaging 23.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Johnny Hamilton finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks (9-5). Kaelon Wilson added 15 points, but he whiffed on all five of his 3-pointers as UT Arlington made just 5 of 26 (19 percent).
Coastal Carolina hit 7 of 12 from long range in the first half and led 42-31 at the break.
Gant, Washington lead Louisiana past Little Rock 77-63
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- JaKeenan Gant and Bryce Washington notched double-doubles and Louisiana opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 77-63 victory over Little Rock on Friday night.
Gant had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Washington scored 15 with 19 boards for the Ragin' Cajuns (11-3). The duo helped Louisiana win the rebound battle 45-26. Frank Bartley IV added 16 points for the Cajuns, who are 9-1 in their last 10 games.
Anthony Black scored 14 and Andre Jones added 13 points to pace the Trojans (3-11), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Malik Marquetti scored the final five points in an 18-2 game-opening run for Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns pushed the lead to 42-24 by halftime. The Trojans cut the lead to 42-30 early in the second half, but Washington's 3-point play capped a 13-4 run and Louisiana stayed comfortably ahead from there.
Sikes nets 31, leads South Alabama over Georgia State 86-64
MOBILE, Ala. -- Rodrick Sikes made 6 of 10 from 3-point range and scored 31 points, and South Alabama opened Sun Belt Conference play with an 86-64 win over Georgia State on Friday night.
Jordan Andrews made 5 of 8 from the arc and scored 19 and Josh Ajayi had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Jaguars (7-6).
South Alabama had scoring runs of 12-0, 15-2 and 10-0 in the second half which resulted in a 69-43 lead with seven minutes to go. The Panthers (9-5) got no closer than 20 the rest of the way.
Georgia State opened the game with an 11-5 lead but South Alabama had a 9-0 run to take lead, and went in front for good at 21-19 on Herb McGee's layup with six minutes left in the first half.
D'Marcus Simonds led the Panthers with 27 points. Devin Mitchell and Jeff Thomas added 11 each.
Georgia Southern holds off Troy 86-80 in milestone win
TROY, Ala. -- Tookie Brown poured in 31 points as Georgia Southern came from behind to knock off defending champion Troy 86-80 and reach a program milestone in a Sun Belt Conference opener Friday night.
The win marks the first time Georgia Southern (10-4) has reached 10 wins before New Year's Day. The Eagles trailed 45-41 at halftime and caught up at 49-49 on a Jake Allsmiller 3-pointer. Troy's Wesley Person turned a 3-pointer into a four-point play after being fouled, but Brown and Ike Smith answered as the Eagles pulled even again at 53.
The teams battled through ties at 55-, 57- and 59-all before Brown made two free throws and added a 3-pointer for a little breathing room with 6:16 remaining. Georgia Southern led by as many as nine before Troy scrapped back with consecutive baskets by Person, who scored nine of the Trojans' next 12 points, closing to 82-80 with 13 seconds left.
Brown and Mike Hughes, who had 12 points, closed out the game with four free throws. Brown was 15 of 19 at the foul line.
Person scored 29 to lead Troy (6-8).
Arkansas State beats UL Monroe 75-64 in Sun Belt opener
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Grantham Gillard scored 19 points, Tamas Bruce had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Arkansas State beat Louisiana-Monroe 75-64 on Friday night in a Sun Belt Conference opener.
Deven Simms hit a 3-pointer to spark a 13-3 run and Arkansas State led 63-52 with four minutes left. Connor Kern and Ty Cockfield each made a 3 during the stretch. Travis Munningsscored seven straight points to pull the Warhawks to 71-64 with 49 seconds remaining. Cockfield and Simms each made two free throws to seal it.
Gillard was 6 of 11 from the field and made four 3-pointers, and Bruce collected his first double-double of the season. Simms had 17 points and Cockfield finished with 15 for Arkansas State (6-8), which has won three of its last four games.
Munnings scored 22 points to lead UL Monroe (6-6).