Texas State upsets UTA in Sun Belt semifinals 83-62
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bobby Conley scored 16 points and Immanuel King scored 11 of his 13 in the first half when Texas State built a nine-point lead and went on to upset top-seeded UTA 83-62 on Saturday.
Nijal Pearson added 14 points, Kavin Tilbury-Gilder 12 and Nedeljko Prijovic 11 for the fourth-seeded Bobcats (20-12), who will play the winner of No. 2 seed Georgia State and No. 6 seed Troy for the conference championship on Sunday. Texas State shot 53 percent.
The Bobcats reached 20 victories for the first time since 1993-94 when they had 25 wins and went to the NCAA Tournament. They will be playing in their first Sun Belt final.
The Bobcats trailed by four when they went on a 19-6 run to end the first half, including seven points each from King and Prijovic, to lead 41-32. Texas State went up by double figures for good with 7½ minutes left in the game and would lead by as many as 23.
Erick Neal scored 21 points and Kevin Hervey had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks (25-8).
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No. 1, 2 seeds in Sun Belt fall; Troy tops Georgia State 74-63
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Wesley Person scored 16 points, Jordon Varnado had 15 points and nine rebounds, and sixth-seeded Troy upset No. 2 seed Georgia State 74-63 on Saturday in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Top-seeded UTA also lost on Saturday, setting up a finals matchup with No. 4 seed Texas State on Sunday. It will be the Trojans' first championship game since losing to North Texas in 2010.
Troy was down 37-28 at halftime but outscored Georgia State by 20 in the second half. Varnado had a block and DeVon Walker threw down a two-handed dunk at the other end for a 48-46 lead with 12 minutes left — Troy's first since 8:47 left in the first half.
Georgia State pulled to 63-59 with three minutes to go but Person answered with a 3-pointer and Varnado added a 3-point play on their next possession for a 10-point lead.
Jeremy Hollimon added 14 points and Walker 12 for Troy (21-14).
Isaiah Williams hit three 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Georgia State (20-12).