Louisiana upsets champ UTA, 83-81
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Frank Bartley IV and Jay Wright scored 22 points apiece and Louisiana upset UTA 83-81 on Saturday night for its sixth straight win.
Louisiana (20-11, 10-8 Sun Belt) ends the regular season in a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings. UTA (24-7, 14-4) had already clinched the conference title and the top seed into the tournament, but fell short of a program-record 25 wins in a season.
The Ragin' Cajuns had a seven-point lead with a minute left. Kevin Hervey made back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a 9-4 spurt to pull the Mavericks to 82-80 with 12 seconds left. Wright split a pair of free throws with three seconds to go and then he immediately fouled Hervey to seal it.
Bryce Washington added 12 points and Johnathan Stove had 10 for Louisiana.
Hervey scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks.
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Georgia State tops Georgia Southern for Sun Belt 1st round bye
ATLANTA (AP) — D'Marcus Simonds scored 21 points, Jeremy Hollowell totaled 15 points, 12 boards and five assists, and Georgia State outlasted Georgia Southern for a 72-67 win in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday.
Georgia State clinched a first-round bye in next week's Sun Belt Conference tournament.
The Panthers led 70-67 with 18 seconds left after Malik Benlevi made his first of two free throws. He missed the second, but Hollowell scampered for the loose ball and got the rebound. Hollowell made a pair from the line with 13 seconds left for a 72-67 lead.
Jeff Thomas went 4 for 4 from the 3-point line for Georgia State (19-11, 12-6), which finished 11 of 19 from long range (58 percent). Georgia Southern went 11 for 35 (31).
Ike Smith finished with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting for Georgia Southern (18-13, 11-7). Tookie Brown added 11 points.
The Panthers outrebounded Georgia Southern 45-21.
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Texas State fends off ULM late, 70-65
MONROE, La. (AP) — Nijal Pearson scored 17 points and Texas State closed its regular season winning three of its last four games with a 70-65 victory over ULM on Saturday.
Texas State's win, coupled with the Arkansas State loss to South Alabama, clinches the No. 4 seed for the Bobcats in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury finished with 16 points, becoming the 17th player in school history with 500 or more in a season, while Ojai Black added 15 for Texas State (18-12, 11-7 Sun Belt).
The Bobcats led by just one with 3:55 to go, but gained enough breathing room down the stretch to close it out. A Black jumper gave Texas State a 64-60 lead with 1:59 left, and a Pearson free throw pushed it to five with 38 seconds remaining. Louisiana-Monroe never got back within four.
Travis Munnings led ULM (8-23, 2-16) with 17 points. The Warhawks, losers of three in a row and eight of nine, will be the No. 12 seed in the conference tournament.
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Williams hits late 3 to lift South Alabama over Arkansas State
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Ken Williams scored a season-high 25 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left, and South Alabama snapped a four-game skid with a 73-70 win over Arkansas State in the season finale on Saturday.
Devin Carter's 3 for Arkansas State tied it at 70 with 29 seconds left. Williams, just across half court, started his move with seven seconds left but was trapped behind the 3-point line by two Red Wolves. He split the trap and elevated off one foot from the left wing, rising up for his fourth 3 of the game.
Williams scored 9 of the final 11 points for South Alabama (14-17, 7-11). Nick Stover added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Arkansas State (20-11, 11-7) led 58-46 with 13:46 left, but the Red Wolves scored just two points over the next six minutes, and the Jaguars used a 16-2 run to take a 62-60 lead with 7:12 remaining.
Carter made 7 of 8 3s and scored 25 points, setting a single-season school record with 101 3-pointers. Deven Simms had 13 points and six rebounds.
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Troy is No. 6 Sun Belt seed, tops Little Rock 57-54
TROY, Ala. (AP) — Wesley Person hit six straight free throws in the final minute to complete Troy's comeback to beat Little Rock in the regular season finale 57-54 on Saturday.
Troy entered the game tied with Louisiana for seventh place in the Sun Belt Conference and moved into a tie with Coastal Carolina for sixth after the Chanticleers lost to Appalachian State.
The Trojans own the tiebreaker against both and enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 seed Appalachian State in a first-round game Wednesday in New Orleans.
Person was 12 for 12 from the free throw line and finished with 20 points to lead Troy (18-14, 10-8). Jordon Varnado added 12 points. Overall the Trojans were 24 of 31 from the free-throw line, offsetting their 14-for-42 (33 percent) night from the field.
Kemy Osse had 20 points to lead Little Rock (15-16, 6-12), which will the No. 10 seed and will play the No. 7 seed.
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Appalachian State loses big lead, rallies to beat Coastal Carolina
BOONE, N.C. (AP) — Ronshad Shabazz led five in double figures with 18 points, and Appalachian State nearly blew an 18-point halftime lead in a 77-73 win over Coastal Carolina in the season finale for both on Saturday.
Coastal Carolina trailed 48-30 at halftime but rallied to take a 59-57 lead after a Jaylen Shaw 3-pointer with 8:08 left. The score remained close the rest of the way, neither team led by more than five.
A Kelvin Robinson 3-point play capped a 5-0 spurt for Appalachian State which gave the Mountaineers a 72-68 lead with 45 seconds left. The Chanticleers got back to within two but a pair of Emarius Logan free throws pushed their deficit back to two possessions with 19 seconds left.
Jake Babic and Griffin Kinney each scored 11 points for the Mountaineers (9-20, 4-14 Sun Belt), while Robinson and Logan chipped in 10 apiece.
Wiggins led Coastal Carolina (15-16, 10-8) with 29 points. Shaw added 20.