Texas State beats Arkansas State behind Gilder-Tilbury's 21 points
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Kavin Gilder-Tilbury had 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, and Texas State held off Arkansas State 62-58 on Monday night in the only matchup this season between the two Sun Belt foes.
The win puts Texas State within a half-game of first place behind UT Arlington, Arkansas State, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern.
Nijal Pearson added 15 points for Texas State (15-9, 8-4).
Neither team shot well, with both hovering around the 40-percent mark, but the Bobcats finished with a plus-seven advantage at the free-throw line (18-11).
The score was tied at 53 when two Ojai Black free throws and a Gilder-Tilbury 3 gave Texas State a five-point lead with 1:42 left. A Donte Thomas layup for the Red Wolves (18-8, 9-4) cut it back to three, but two Gilder-Tilbury free throws effectively iced it.
Thomas was the single Red Wolf in double figures with 14 points.
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UTA takes over 1st place in Sun Belt
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Jalen Jones and Kevin Harvey each scored 20 points and UTA pulled away from Little Rock in the second half to win 71-55 on Monday night and seize sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Mavericks (19-6, 9-3) entered the night a half-game behind Arkansas State, Georgia State, and Georgian Southern, all of whom lost on Monday.
Both Jones and Harvey finished 7 of 11 from the field. Kaelon Wilson added 13 points for UTA, who led by just one at halftime and two with 11:35 to go before cruising to the finish.
A Jones jumper capped a 10-1 Mavericks run, which extended their lead to double-digits at 57-46. Two free throws by Marcus Johnson Jr. cut the Little Rock deficit back to seven, but a Harvey 3 extended the gap back to 10.
Johnson led the Trojans (13-13, 4-9) with 14 points.
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Beck's go-ahead putback with 3.5 left lifts Coastal Carolina
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) Elijah Wilson and Demario Beck each scored 15 points, and Beck had the go-ahead putback with 3.5 seconds left to help Coastal Carolina beat Georgia State 65-64 on Monday night.
Wilson was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all of the free throws to tie it at 62-all with 1:32 to go. At the other end, Isaiah Williams hit two at the stripe to give Georgia State the lead.
Beck drew contact on a low-post move and hit 1 of 2 free throws with 53.4 seconds left to cut it to 64-63. After a Georgia State miss and with the shot clock off, Jaylen Shaw's 3-pointer was off but Beck was there to put back the miss.
With 3.5 to go, a long inbounds pass was deflected out of bounds and the Panthers got the ball back with 1.5 to go, but Williams' 3 was off the mark.
Beck grabbed nine rebounds and Wilson made four 3-pointers for Coastal Carolina (13-13, 8-5 Sun Belt).
Jeremy Hollowell led Georgia State (16-9, 9-4) with 16 points and Williams finished with 14.
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Kinney scores 25, Appalachian State upsets Georgia Southern
BOONE, N.C. (AP) Griffin Kinney hit 13 free throws and finished with 25 points - both career highs - to help Appalachian State beat Sun Belt Conference-leading Georgia Southern 83-78 on Monday night.
Kinney made 13 of 20 foul shots and grabbed nine rebounds. Ronshad Shabazz had 12 points, Patrick Good scored 11 - including three 3-pointers - and Emarius Logan added 10 points for Appalachian State (8-16, 3-10). The Mountaineers, who knocked off Georgia State on Saturday, have won two in a row after losing seven straight.
Good hit two 3s and finished with eight points while Kinney scored seven during a 22-5 run that put Appalachian State up 41-33 at the break and the Eagles trailed by at least eight points until the final seconds. Georgia Southern (16-10, 9-4) missed 7 of 9 shots during the decisive run and fell behind by as many as 14 in the second half.
Tookie Brown, who led the Eagles with a season-high tying 32 points, scored 17 in the final 6:27, but Logan made 7 of 8 free throws and Kinney added a pair in the last two-plus minutes to seal it.
Brown had nine rebounds and five assists, and Ike Smith added 19 points for GSU.
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Baker's deep 3 lifts Troy past ULM 73-72 in OT
MONROE, La. (AP) Jordon Varnado scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Kevin Baker sank the winning 3-pointer in overtime to lift Troy to a 73-72 win over ULM on Monday night.
Troy, trailing by two in OT after ULM got a bucket from Travis Munnings to make it 72-70, got the ball to Baker and he launched it from deep behind the arc with 3.4 left. ULM's final shot, a mid-court attempt from Nick Coppola, fell short.
Juan Davis Jr. added 12 points for Troy (14-12, 6-6 Sun Belt) and Baker finished with 11, including three from long range. The Trojans shot 41 percent from the field and edged ULM 13-6 at the free throw line.
Munnings and Marcus Washington scored 18 points apiece for ULM (7-19, 1-12). Sam McDaniel had 15 and Marvin Jean-Pierre 13, including the jumper with 26 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 64-all and force overtime.
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Washington's 19th double-double leads Louisiana to win
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Bryce Washington had 25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists to help Louisiana beat South Alabama 87-61 on Monday night.
It was Washington's 19th double-double of the season.
Louisiana led by nine points at halftime and scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half for a 46-30 lead. Washington had four points during the run and Frank Bartley IV hit a 3-pointer.
The Ragin' Cajuns were 17-of-28 shooting in the second half (60.7 percent).
Bartley IV added 10 points for Louisiana (15-11, 5-8), which had 12 players get in the scoring column. Jay Wright had six assists and eight points to become the 44th player in program history to score 1,000 in his career.
Nick Stover led South Alabama (12-13, 5-7) with 14 points. Don MuepoKelly and Ken Williams each added 11 points and Josh Ajayi grabbed 10 rebounds but Jaguars were just 1 of 15 from distance.