12th-seeded ULM pulls off Sun Belt Tournament upset
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nick Coppola scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half and overtime and 12th-seeded Louisiana-Monroe upset No. 5 seed Arkansas State 73-70 on Wednesday in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament.
Sam Alabakis added 14 points and Marvin Jean-Pierre 12 for the Warhawks (8-24), who will play No. 4 seed Texas State in a quarterfinal Friday.
Alabakis and Jean-Pierre opened overtime with baskets and Marcus Washington added six points in a 10-2 run to take control. Coppola made two free throws with six seconds left after the Red Wolves got within three.
Arkansas State had a chance to win in regulation but Rashad Lindsey missed a 3-pointer and Deven Simms a tip-in. Donte Thomas scored 22 points to lead the Red Wolves (20-12), who swept the regular-season series from ULM, which won only two conference games.
ULM scored the first nine points of the second half to tie it but the Red Wolves retook the lead and held it until Jean-Pierre hit a jumper with four minutes left for a one-point lead.
The Red Wolves missed 12 of 22 free throws.
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Troy routs Appalachian State 84-64 in Sun Belt tourney opener
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Wesley Person scored 29 points and Troy rolled to an 84-64 victory over Appalachian State on Wednesday night in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
No. 6 seed Troy (19-14) plays third-seeded Georgia Southern in a Thursday quarterfinal. No. 11 seed Appalachian State (9-21) lost five of its last six.
Person was 8 of 13 from the field and made five 3-pointers. Jordon Varnado added 17 points and Jeremy Hollimon chipped in 16 for the Trojans, who shot 57 percent from the floor and 8 of 16 from 3-point range.
Shabazz Ronshad scored 22 points to lead the Mountaineers.
Troy had a seven-point halftime lead and Appalachian State pulled to 47-40 with 15:38 to play. The Trojans answered with an 11-6 surge and had a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
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Wright scores 24, Ragin' Cajuns advance in Sun Belt tourney
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jay Wright scored 24 points and seventh-seeded Louisiana eliminated 10th-seeded and defending tournament champ Little Rock 78-71 on Wednesday in an opening-round game at the Sun Belt Tournament.
Justin Miller made two free throws in the opening seconds of the second half and the Ragin' Cajuns (21-11) held on from there despite going without a field goal for nearly eight minutes. The Trojans (15-17) were within four points with two minutes left but LA then made 15 of 16 free throws.
LA sank 31 of 38 free throws, all but seven attempts coming in the second half.
Miller scored 20 points and Bruce Washington 12 points and nine rebounds for ULL while leading scorer Frank Bartley IV (15.9) didn't get his first points until he broke LA's long field-goal drought with 2½ minutes to go.
LA, which won its seven straight, beat Little Rock three times this season.
Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 14 points and Kemy Osse 13 for the Trojans.
LA plays No. 2 seed Georgia State in a quarterfinal on Friday.
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Coastal Carolina wins in debut in Sun Belt Tournament
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Elijah Wilson made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead Coastal Carolina to an 80-67 victory over South Alabama on Wednesday in the Chanticleers' first appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament.
The eighth-seeded Chanticleers (16-16), newcomers to the conference, play top-seeded UT Arlington in Friday's quarterfinals. It was CCU's second victory over the ninth-seeded Jaguars (14-18) in 12 days with the Chanticleers taking an 81-77 overtime victory in their only regular-season meeting.
A 5-0 spurt early in the second half gave CCU a double-digit lead that held up with Wilson's 3-pointer with 7:44 left giving the Chanticleers their largest lead at 71-51 and also sending Wilson over 1,800 career points.
Jaylen Shaw added 14 points and Amidou Bamba and Josh Coleman 10 each. CCU was 11 of 16 from 3-point range.
Ken Williams led South Alabama with 18 points. Nick Stover added 11 and Shaq Calhoun 10.