Simonds hits 2 late FTs to seal 85-82 win for Georgia State
ATLANTA (AP) D'Marcus Simonds hit two free throws in the final seconds to secure the win as Georgia State barely survived a late Louisiana rally for an 85-82 victory on Saturday.
The Ragin' Cajuns, trailing 81-71 with 5:29 left, mounted a furious charge to trail 83-82 with 55 seconds left. Jay Wright slammed home a dunk after he swiped the ball from Isaiah Williams and Johnathan Stove followed with a layup to cut the margin to one as the Panthers scored just three points in the final 4:32.
Simonds, who finished with 19 points, hit two free throws in the final three seconds for the victory. P.J. Hardy missed a 3-point attempt as the clock expired.
Malik Benlevi had 17 points as the Panthers (15-7, 8-2 Sun Belt) won their seventh straight.
Frank Bartley IV nailed 7 of 15 from distance for a career-high 31 points for the Ragin' Cajuns (14-9, 4-6).
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UTA controls Texas State in 76-61 win
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Kevin Hervey scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds, Erick Neal and Jorge Bilbao each scored 13 points and UTA beat Texas State 76-61 on Saturday.
It was Hervey's ninth double-double of the year and the 18th of his career. The Mavericks shot 60 percent (29 for 48) from the field and limited Texas State to 39-percent (20 for 51) shooting.
UTA (17-6, 7-3 Sun Belt) went on an 18-4 run during a five-minute span in the first half and built a 26-12 lead. Texas State (13-9, 6-4) cut its deficit to 31-23 by holding the Mavericks scoreless for three minutes and trailed 39-30 at the break. UTA opened the second half with a 7-2 run and led by double figures the rest of the way.
Drew Charles added 10 points for the Mavericks, winners of five of their last six games.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury scored 15 and moved into 10th place on the Texas State career-scoring list, with 1,166 points.
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Smith, Hughes combine for 10 3s, Georgia Southern beats ULM
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Ike Smith and Mike Hughes combined for 39 points and 10 of Georgia Southern's 13 3-pointers and the Eagles beat ULM 76-62 on Saturday to snap a two-game skid.
Smith scored 22, Hughes hit 5 of 6 from behind the arc and Tookie Brown added 15 points for Georgia Southern (15-8, 8-2 Sun Belt), which is tied with Georgia State atop the conference standings.
Hughes' first 3 made it 7-5 and the Eagles never again trailed. ULM (7-16, 1-9) went scoreless for more than four minutes while Hughes hit two more 3-pointers during a 14-2 run that made it 34-18 with 3:33 left in the half and Georgia Southern led by 17 at the break. Nick Coppola's jumper with 15:46 to play pulled the Warhawks within nine, but Smith hit two 3s and Jake Allsmiller added a third as the Eagles scored 11 in a row to make it 60-40 and cruised from there.
Marcus Washington had 15 points and Travis Munnings scored 11 with 11 rebounds for ULM.
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Arkansas State holds off Appalachian State for 79-78 win
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Devin Carter scored 25 points, Deven Simms pumped in 15 more and Arkansas State held on Saturday night for a 79-78 win over Appalachian State.
Trailing by six late in the second half, Arkansas State (17-6, 8-2 Sun Belt) got a 3-pointer from Lindsey to spark a 15-4 run that made it 73-68 with 3:17 to play and held off Appalachian State the rest of the way.
Applachian State (6-15, 1-9) trimmed the gap to two with a 3-pointer from Patrick Good to trail 77-75 before the Red Wolves stretched their lead back to four from the free throw line with five seconds left. Good then hit another 3 as time expired, cutting the margin to one and setting the final score.
Rashad Lindsey added 11 points and Donte Thomas had 10 for Arkansas State, which won its sixth straight game.
Ronshad Shabazz led Appalachian State with 19 points, Tyrell Johnson added 16 and Craig Hinton had 10 to go with 10 rebounds.
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Williams has 18, clinching FT as South Alabama tops Troy 76-71
TROY, Ala. (AP) Ken Williams had 18 points, including the clinching free throws with one second remaining and South Alabama edged Troy 76-71 on Saturday night.
The Jaguars (11-12, 4-6 Sun Belt), took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Shaq Calhoun that made it 68-66 and started an 8-0 run. The Trojans got it to 74-71 on a 3-pointer by Wesley Person with nine seconds left.
Neither team led by more than eight points and both had a strong finish with South Alabama making its last six shots and Troy going 5 of 7.
Don MuepoKelly added 16 points for the Jags and Josh Ajayi had 12. South Alabama shot 58 percent (15 of 26), and had just one turnover, in the second half. Williams had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Kevin Baker had a career-high 19 for Troy, which only had two turnovers after the break but was outscored by six from the foul line. Wesley Person added 14 points and DeVon Walker had 12 rebounds.
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Shaw leads Coastal Carolina past Little Rock, 82-75
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Jaylen Shaw scored 21 points and Coastal Carolina shot its way out of a halftime deficit to post an 82-75 win at Little Rock Saturday night.
Maurius Hill and Oliver Black each scored on layups in the final minute of the first half to send the Trojans into halftime with a 34-31 advantage. Shivaughn Wiggins drilled a 3-pointer with 15:23 left to give the Chanticleers the lead for good.
Shaw hit 7 of 9 shots from the field, including 1 of 2 from deep, and Colton Ray-St. Cyr scored 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Overall Coastal Carolina (11-12, 6-4 Sun Belt) shot 55.8 percent from the floor (29 of 52), including 8 of 18 from 3-point range.
Jalen Jackson scored 21 points to pace Little Rock (12-11, 3-7) and Hill, Marcus Johnson, Jr. and Kemy Osse each added 11 points. The Trojans shot 28 of 58 from the field (48.3 percent).