Arkansas State rolls past Coastal Carolina 67-57
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Deven Simms had 18 points and nine rebounds, Devin Carter scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Arkansas State beat Coastal Carolina 67-57 on Monday night.
The Red Wolves (18-6, 9-2 Sun Belt) had control throughout the second half and their largest lead at 14 was on Tamas Bruce's dunk with 2:26 left. The Chanticleers (11-13, 6-5) closed the deficit to nine and got no closer the rest of the way.
Arkansas State has a seven-game winning streak for the second time this season - a first in program history - and stayed in a three-way tie for first place with Georgia State and Georgia Southern.
Colton Ray-St Cyr had 17 points, Jaylen Shaw scored 11 and Artur Labinowicz added 10 for Coastal Carolina, which has lost four of six.
Arkansas State had a 16-1 run to open a 19-7 lead and went into halftime up 34-22.
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Georgia State rolls to 8th straight win, beats ULM 69-55
ATLANTA (AP) Jeremy Hollowell drilled 3 of 6 from long range to total 19 points to lead Georgia State to its eighth straight win, a 69-55 victory over ULM on Monday night.
Malik Benlevi added 14 points, nailing 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, Isaiah Williams had 11 and D'Marcus Simonds added 10 for Georgia State (16-7, 9-2 Sun Belt) which hit 11 of 26 from distance.
The Panthers jumped out to a 24-8 lead midway in the first half to take a 40-26 lead into halftime. The Warhawks did cut the deficit to 54-44 at the 9:19 mark of the second period, but Simonds answered with a layup and Hollowell hit a jumper and 3-pointer for a 64-46 lead and the Panthers cruised home.
ULM took Georgia State into overtime before falling 73-65 on Jan. 14.
Nick Coppola led ULM (7-17, 1-10) with 16 points and Travis Munnings added 15.
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Hughes has 20 as Georgia Southern holds off Louisiana
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Mike Hughes had six of his 20 points in the final minutes and Georgia Southern held off Louisiana 74-70 on Monday night to remain tied atop the Sun Belt Conference.
The Ragin' Cajuns led for most of the second half until Hughes drilled a 3-pointer to go ahead 68-66 with 2:02 remaining in the game. Hughes followed with a steal, a layup and a free throw. Tookie Brown and Ike Smith made three free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
The Eagles are tied with Georgia State and Arkansas State for first place in the conference.
Hughes nailed 5 of 8 from beyond the arc as the Eagles hit 11 from long distance. Smith finished with 18 points and Brown added 11 for Georgia Southern (16-8, 9-2) which rebounded to win two straight after dropping two in-a-row.
Justin Miller had 18 points to lead Louisiana (14-10, 4-7).
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Little Rock stops losing skid, beats Appalachian State 69-62
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Jalen Jackson had 14 points as Little Rock rolled in the second half to beat Appalachian State 69-62 on Monday night to halt a four-game losing skid.
LR made 25 field goals for the game compared to 23 for the Mountaineers, but the Trojans nailed 10 of 22 from beyond the arc while Appalachian State hit just 5 of 16.
LR led 28-23 at the break and had a 20-10 run to open the second half and go up 48-33 with 12:31 left. Appalachian State never seriously threatened after that, and the Trojans led 67-55 with 1:33 remaining.
The Trojans picked up 25 points off of Appalachian State's 13 turnovers and finished with 13 second chance points compared to five for the Mountaineers.
Lis Shoshi had 11 points and seven rebounds for Little Rock (13-11, 4-7 Sun Belt).
Ronshad Shabazz and Tyrell Johnson had 15 points apiece for Appalachian State (6-16, 1-10).