UTA beats Troy for share of Sun Belt title
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jorge Bilbao scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Faith Pope added 14, and UTA dominated down low to beat Troy 82-67 on Monday night and clinch a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title.
Jalen Jones and Kevin Hervey scored 13 apiece for the Mavericks (23-6, 13-3), who shot 50 percent from the floor to Troy's 41 percent and outscored them 44-24 in the paint.
Bilbao's layup put the Mavericks up 47-30 early in the second half. Troy scored five straight and closed to 51-41 on Person's free throw with 17:09 left to go, but couldn't get closer the rest of the way. Bilbao's layup capped a 6-1 run and the Mavericks had their largest lead, 21 points, with 6:02 to play.
Pope put the Mavericks up for good, 16-5, with a free throw and UTA led 45-30 at halftime.
Juan Davis Jr. scored 14 for Troy (16-14, 8-8) and Wesley Person had 13.
----------
Carter, Arkansas State make history, beat Georgia State 78-67
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Devin Carter scored 20 points, and led five into double figures as Arkansas State defeated Georgia State 78-67 on Monday night, leap-frogging both Georgia State and Georgia Southern into second place in the Sun Belt Conference.
Carter has broken past 1,000 points in two seasons with the Red Wolves. The win also gives Grant McCasland 20 wins in his first year as coach at Arkansas State (20-9, 11-5). This season's team is just the fourth at Arkansas State to win 20 regular-season games, first since 1997-98, and the Red Wolves have two games remaining.
Jahmiah Simmons scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, Deven Simms scored 13, Connor Kern and Rashad Lindsey 12 each for Arkansas State, which led 34-31 early in the second half but steadily pulled away.
Jeremy Hollowell led with 15 points and D'Marcus Simonds added 14 for Georgia State (18-11, 11-6), which was hoping to clinch a bye into the Sun Belt Tournament. The Panthers fall into a third-place tie with Georgia Southern, which was upset 56-54 by Arkansas-Little Rock on Monday.
----------
Little Rock slips past Georgia Southern for 56-54 win
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Jalen Jackson scored 16 points and Kemy Osse sank the winning 3-pointer with eight seconds left to lift Little Rock to a 56-54 win over Georgia Southern on Monday night.
Little Rock (14-15, 5-11 Sun Belt Conference) trailed for nearly the whole game but stayed close, then dug in over the final six minutes to hold Georgia Southern to just two points while steadily chipping away at a seven-point deficit. Maurius Hill and Marcus Johnson Jr. each went 2 for 2 from the line and then Andre Jones got back-to-back layups to trail 54-53 and Little Rock called its final timeout with 17 seconds left.
The Trojans inbounded from the sideline, tried penetrating from the top of the key but then shoveled it back Osse, who fired the winning 3 from the right wing.
Georgia Southern's Ike Smith missed a layup as time expired.
Hill and Johnson Jr. got 11 points each for Little Rock.
Jake Allsmiller led Georgia Southern (18-12, 11-6) with 19 points and Smith had 15.
----------
Texas State uses balanced attack for 90-64 win over South Alabama
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Kavin Gilder-Tilbury scored 26 points shooting 10 for 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds and Texas State smoked South Alabama shooting 59 percent from the floor for a 90-64 win on Monday.
Texas State (17-11, 10-6 Sun Belt) got off to a quick start and led 10-0 on Ojai Black's 3-point play. Marlin Davis' layup off his steal made it 17-5 with 12:10 left before halftime.
Ken Williams' jumper brought South Alabama (13-16, 6-10) to within 23-16 with 9:02 to play before the break, and the Bobcats outscored South Alabama 22-9 to end the half and led 45-27 at halftime.
Texas State went up 71-50 with 7:30 to go off his steal and layup. The Bobcats shot 34 for 58 -- including 9 for 21 from 3-point range -- and 13 for 14 from the foul line. Nijal Pearson scored 15 points, Black 14, Davis 11, and Nedeljko Prijovic 10.
Williams was the lone Jaguar in double figures with 14 points.
----------
Bartley, Washington help Louisiana to 77-62 win
BOONE, N.C. -- Frank Bartley IV scored 21 points and had five steals, tying a career high, and Louisiana defeated Appalachian State 77-62 on Monday night.
Bryce Washington scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, his 20th double-double of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns (18-11, 8-8 Sun Belt) posting their first winning record on the road (8-7) since the 1999-2000 season. Jay Wright also scored 15 points and had six assists. Washington came into the game fourth in the NCAA for double-doubles.
Bartley opened the game with a steal and a fast-break layup on Appalachian State's second possession. App State has never beaten Louisiana, now 0-5 since joining the Sun Belt in the 2014-15 season.
Ronshad Shabazz led the Mountaineers (8-20, 3-14) with 17 points, the lone scorer in double figures. Appalachian State was called for 21 fouls and committed 17 turnovers in part due to 10 Louisiana steals. The Ragin' Cajuns made 16 of 25 attempts from the free throw line.
----------
Coastal Carolina edges ULM in 77-72 win
CONWAY, S.C. -- Shivaughn Wiggins scored 18 points and Colton Ray-St Cyr scored 16 and the two combined to shoot 14 for 21 from floor and Coastal Carolina beat ULM 77-72 on Monday night.
Jaylen Shaw made a pair of free throws to give Coastal Carolina (15-15, 10-7 Big South) a 71-70 lead with 64 seconds left and the Chanticleers led the rest of the way. Ray-St Cyr added a layup, and Shaw's dunk with 19 seconds left sealed it.
Marcus Washington turned the ball over and Elijah Wilson added a pair of foul shots to end the scoring. Coastal Carolina was 28-for-56 from the floor and ULM (8-21, 2-14) went 23 for 61 (38 percent).
Shaw scored 13 points, Wilson scored 11 and Ray St-Cyr grabbed nine rebounds.
Marvin Jean-Pierre scored 14 points, Sam McDaniel and Marcus Washington each scored 13 and Travis Munnings and Nick Coppola both scored 12 points for the Warhawks.
----------