Georgia Southern rallies to beat Little Rock 67-61
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Tookie Brown had 19 points and Mike Hughes added 14 as Georgia Southern rallied in the second half to beat Little Rock 67-61 in Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday night.
Georgia Southern (16-7, 7-3) came out hot in the second period after Little Rock took a 34-20 lead into the break. Hughes started the final period with two free throws, followed by a 3-pointer that started a 12-3 run to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at the 15:14 mark. They took the lead for good, 41-39, when Quan Jackson drained a 3 with 13:09 left. Georgia State pushed its lead to 56-48 with 3:29 remaining.
Brown was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line and Hughes made 9 of 10 attempts as Georgia Southern made 23 of 29 from the line. The Trojans made just 8 of 19.
Andre Jones led Little Rock (5-18, 2-8), which has lost five straight, with 18 points.
Neal has career-high 38, UTA rallies to beat Appalachian State
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Erick Neal had a career-high 38 points and Kevin Hervey added 18 points with 14 rebounds to lead UT Arlington to an 89-77 comeback victory over Appalachian State on Thursday night.
The Mavericks drilled 10 of 16 (63 percent) from beyond the arc with Appalachian State making just 8 of 31 from distance.
Neal was 11 of 19 from the floor, hitting five from distance, and making 11 of 12 free throws. Hervey was 6 of 8 from the line as the Mavericks made 29 of 38 free-throw attempts. Appalachian State made 13 of 16.
Nathan Hawkins added a career-best 19 points for UTA (14-10, 5-6 Sun Belt Conference).
Appalachian State held a 39-35 halftime advantage. UTA took its first lead, 58-57, since early in the game when DJ Bryant made two free throws with 8:10 left. Neal drained a 3 and followed with a layup as the Mavericks took the lead for good 63-60 with 6:24 left.
The Mavericks made 16 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Ronshad Shabazz led the Mountaineers (9-15, 4-7) with 31 points, one shy of his career high.
Simonds leads Georgia St. to 8th straight win, 77-66
JONESBORO, Ark. -- D'Marcus Simonds had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists as Georgia State got past Arkansas State 77-66 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.
The win streak matches the third-longest in Georgia State history.
Malik Benlevi added 13 points with 10 rebounds and Jeff Thomas chipped in another 13 points as Georgia State (17-6, 8-2) remained in second place behind Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
The Panthers shot 56 percent (29-52) from the floor while limiting Arkansas State to 22-of-61 shooting (36 percent).
The Red Wolves led for most of the first half before Georgia State rallied to go ahead 32-29 at the break. Benlevi opened the second period with a 3-pointer and followed with a layup to for a 37-34 advantage.
Arkansas State regained the lead 50-48 at the 10:49 mark. Benlevi drilled another 3 to retake the lead 53-50. The Panthers pushed their advantage to 66-55 with 6:28 left.
Deven Simms had 28 points to lead Arkansas State (8-15, 3-7).
Beck's OT layup gets Coastal Carolina past Texas State 56-54
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Demario Beck made a layup at the buzzer to lift Coastal Carolina to a 56-54 overtime victory over Texas State on Thursday night.
Nijal Pearson's two free throws tied the game at 54 for the Bobcats with 1:05 to play. Ajay Sanders missed a 3 for the Chanticleers on the ensuing possession, but Texas State committed a turnover before Beck made the game-winner.
Neither team had more than a three-point lead since midway through the second half.
Artur Labinowicz scored 14 points to lead Coastal Carolina (11-13, 5-6 Sun Belt Conference). Zac Cuthbertson added 12 points and Jaylen Shaw had 10. Beck finished with four points, with his first points of the game coming on a pair of free throws with 2:55 to play in the extra period.
Pearson scored 16 points to lead Texas State (14-10, 7-4).