Shabazz scores 21, Appalachian State hangs on 80-76
BOONE, N.C. -- Ronshad Shabazz scored 21 points, including a pair of key free throws with 22 seconds left, and Appalachian State blew most of a 25-point second-half lead before pulling out an 80-76 win over UT Arlington on Sunday.
 
The Mountaineers (7-8, 2-0 Sun Belt) were leading by 12 with 1:02 remaining and then were nearly undone by 8-of-14 free-throw shooting before ending a four-game losing streak to the Mavericks (9-6, 0-2).
 
Shabazz missed 5 of 8 from the line in the final minute but made two for a 78-71 lead. Erick Neal answered with a layup, Shabazz missed two free throws but UTA threw away a pass and Isaac Johnson made two free throws before Neal finished the scoring with a 3-pointer with seven seconds left.
 
O'Showen Williams added 14 points and Griffin Kinney and Craig Hinton 11 each for Appalachian State. Johnson had 12 rebounds with his nine points.
 
Neal tied a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds plus three assists that moved him into first all-time for UTA with 652. Kevin Hervey added 12 points, tying him for third on UTA's career scoring list at 1,411, and eight rebounds, putting him fifth at UTA for career boards at 762.
 
The Mountaineers are 6-0 at home for the first time since 2004-05.
 
Sikes scores 27, South Alabama edges Georgia Southern 69-67
MOBILE, Ala. -- Rodrick Sikes scored 27 points and South Alabama scored the last three points to edge Georgia Southern 69-67 on Sunday.
 
There were seven ties and eight lead changes in the second half. The Eagles (10-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) took the lead on a Quan Jackson layup with 47 seconds left after a South Alabama (8-6, 2-0) turnover. The Jaguars went back on top when Nick Davis scored on a putback with 29 seconds to play.
 
Herb McGee rebounded a Jackson 3-point attempt and made the first of two free throws. Georgia Southern called a timeout but Jackson's winning 3-point attempt was off the mark.
 
Sikes had two 3-pointers and nine points as the Jags raced to a 16-3 lead but the Eagles scored the next eight and the difference never reached double figures again. South Alabama led 39-35 at the half and Sikes opened the second half with another trey. George Southern answered with eight straight and the biggest lead after that was four points, which lasted just one possession.
 
Jackson had 15 points to lead Georgia Southern's balanced attack.
 
Texas State blows lead, edges Coastal Carolina 53-48
CONWAY, S.C. -- Nijal Pearson scored 15 points, Tyler Blount had 14 and Texas State defeated Coastal Carolina 53-48 on Sunday.
 
The Bobcats (8-7, 1-1 Sun Belt) had a 14-point lead late in the first half before missing 14 of 15 shots during a 12-minute span of the second half allowing Coastal Carolina (7-8, 1-1) to tie, the final time with three minutes left on two Zac Cuthbertson free throws.
 
Pearson made two free throws and Prijovic added a jumper to restore a four-point lead with two minutes left. From there, Cuthbertson missed 5 of 6 free throws, the final one intentionally with four seconds left and the Chanticleers trailing by three, and Coastal Carolina made only 1 of 4 field-goal attempts while the Bobcats did enough to escape.
 
Cuthbertson, who made 9 of 10 from the line before his late-game misses, finished with 19 points. He had Coastal Carolina's only 3-pointer with the Chanticleers missing 16 times. Demario Beck added 15.
 
Miller sinks winning FTs, Troy beats Georgia State 68-66
TROY, Ala. (AP) — B.J. Miller was fouled on a fast-break and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to break a tie and Troy completed a 19-point second-half comeback to defeat Georgia State 68-66 on Sunday.
 
Miller had scored just three points for Troy (7-8, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) when he was fouled while driving to the hoop with 4.7 seconds on the clock. After the free throws and a timeout, Malik Benlevi threw an inbounds pass to half court but a long 3-pointer caromed off the back of the rim as the final horn sounded.
 
Georgia State (9-6, 0-2) built a 46-27 lead on a Devin Mitchell 3-pointer with 16:17 remaining. Troy closed within 56-51 on a Juan Davis Jr., 3-pointer with 7:37 to play. The Davis 3 was the start of a 13-0 run that put the Trojans ahead 61-56 with 4:12 left.
 
The teams trade the lead several times with the Panthers going up 66-64 with a minute left. Jordan Varnado tied it with 38 seconds to go and a missed 3-pointer set up Miller's heroics.
 
Varnado led with 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Alex Hicks finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
 
D'Marcus Simonds led the Panthers with 17 points and Jeff Thomas added 15.
 
Louisiana uses late run to pull away from Arkansas State 88-78
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Frank Bartley IV scored 23 points and Bryce Washington added 12 points with 11 rebounds and Louisiana beat Arkansas State 88-78 on Sunday.
 
Johnathan Stove's 3-pointer with 3:57 to go broke a 74-all tie, started a 9-0 run and Arkansas State missed 10 of its final 12 shots the rest of the way.
 
The game was tied at 40 at intermission with Arkansas State shooting 68 percent before falling off to 37 percent (15 of 41) in the second half.
 
Marcus Stroman scored 14 points and passed out 10 assists and JaKeenan Gant and Stove each scored 10. Louisiana (12-3, 2-0 Sun Belt) shot 31 of 56 (55 percent) and had a 37-28 rebounding edge. The Ragin' Cajuns scored 48 points inside to Arkansas State's 34.
 
Rashad Lindsey led Arkansas State (6-9, 1-1) with 18 points, Tamas Bruce and Deven Simms each scored 14 and Ty Cockfield added 13.
 
Little Rock holds off ULM in 71-62 win
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Ryan Pippins scored 15 points, Camron Reedus added 13 more and Little Rock held off ULM for a 71-62 win Sunday.
 
They got help from Oliver Black, who hauled in 12 rebounds, and Ben Marcus had 10 points before fouling out late in the second half. Little Rock (4-11, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) controlled the glass 35-28 and got 45 points from its bench, with Pippins and Reedus both notching career-high scores.
 
After taking a 12-point advantage into the break, Little Rock had to scramble as ULM (6-7, 0-2) opened the second half with a 13-3 run capped with Sam McDaniel's 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 39-37. It was as close as the Warhawks got.
 
Reedus drained a 3-pointer midway through the second half to spark an 11-2 run to stretch Little Rock's lead back to double figures, 55-43 with 9:15 to go, and the Trojans held on from there.
 
McDaniel finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for ULM, Travis Munnings had 18 points and Jordon Harris 10.