Thursday, February 15    
Ajayi has 26 points, 14 boards as South Alabama wins 77-66
BOONE, N.C. -- Josh Ajayi had 26 points to go with 14 rebounds to help South Alabama continue its domination of Appalachian State with a 77-66 win over the Mountaineers in Sun Belt Conference action on Thursday night.

Ajayi was 9 of 16 from the floor while going 8 of 8 from the free throw line. Rodrick Sikes added 24 points, nailing 4 of 9 from long range, and making 8 of 12 from the line.
South Alabama (13-12, 6-6) has won the last five meetings between the schools, including an 83-77 victory in January.

The Mountaineers held a 32-31 halftime advantage and pushed that to 43-38. The teams swapped leads until Ajayi scored six unanswered points that put South Alabama ahead for good, 62-57 at the 4:37 mark. Ajayi had 14 points in the final 5:35 to secure the win.

Griffin Kinney was 8 of 11 from the floor for 19 points while grabbing nine rebounds to lead Appalachian State (11-16, 6-8). Isaac Johnson added 13 points while pulling down 12 rebounds.

Troy rallies late to beat Coastal Carolina 66-65
CONWAY, S.C. -- Jordon Varnado hit a jumper and Kevin Barker split a pair of free throws to complete a late Troy rally to slip past Coastal Carolina 66-65 on Thursday night.

The win kept Troy's February record perfect as the Trojans (13-13, 7-6 Sun Belt) have won four straight.

Troy rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to take the lead after Baker drained a 3-pointer to go ahead 60-59 with 5:54 left. Coastal Carolina's Demario Beck responded with a dunk and Jaylen Shaw followed with a layup for a 63-60 advantage.

The Chanticleers led 65-63 following Amidou Bamba's dunk with 1:43 remaining. Varnado responded with a jumper to tie and Baker's free throw proved to be the game winner. Shaw missed a layup in the final seconds that would have won it for Coastal Carolina.

Coastal Carolina (11-16, 5-9) slipped past the Trojans 74-73 in January.

Alex Hicks had 16 points and Baker added 14 with five assists to lead Troy. Javan Johnson added 12 points with eight rebounds.

Shaw had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists for Coastal Carolina, which has lost three straight after winning four consecutive games.

UL Monroe rolls over UTA 84-71
MONROE, La. -- Michael Ertel and Sam McDaniel combined for 39 points as Louisiana-Monroe rolled over UT Arlington 84-71 to get its third straight Sun Belt Conference victory on Thursday night.

Ertel finished with 20 points and McDaniel had 19, hitting 4 of 8 from distance as the Warhawks drilled 13 of 32 from long range, making 31 of 64 from the floor. The Mavericks were held to 26-of-62 shooting. Travis Munnings added 16 points with six rebounds while dishing out four assists and Marvin Jean-Pierrehad 15 points and 10 rebounds for ULM (12-12, 6-7), which has won five of its last six games.

The Warhawks took a 41-34 lead into the break and pushed that to 69-51 midway in the second period. The Mavericks could never close the gap, losing the second half 43-37.

Erick Neal equaled a UTA record with nine from long range to finish with 35 points and Kevin Hervey added 12 for UTA (16-11, 7-7), which had won three straight.

Washington leads Louisiana to 73-63 win over Texas State
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Bryce Washington scored 19 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to help Louisiana to a 73-63 win over Texas State on Thursday night.

Louisiana (22-4, 12-1) has won 12 of its last 13 games and remains atop the Sun Belt Conference standings, holding a two-game lead over Georgia State, which holds the only conference win over the Ragin' Cajuns, beating them 106-92 last week.

Washington, who recorded his 11th double-double of the season, had 13 points in the first half as the Ragin' Cajuns roared out to a 34-24 halftime advantage and pushed their lead to 52-36 at the 12:51 mark. Texas State rallied to close to 60-55 following Shelby Adams 3-pointer with 4:21 left. Louisiana responded with six unanswered points and made five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Frank Bartley IV added 18 points, Johnathan Stove had 15 and Marcus Stromandished out 11 assists for Louisiana, which won its 15th straight game at home, dating back to last season.

Nijal Pearson had 15 points to lead the Bobcats (14-13, 7-7), who have lost five straight. Immanuel King contributed 14 points.

Friday, February 16    
Brown scores 23, leads Georgia Southern over Georgia State
STATESBORO, Ga. -- Tookie Brown scored 23 points and Georgia Southern knocked off rival Georgia State 85-80 on Friday night.

Brown, who was injured and missed the team's first meeting this season -- an 83-66 win for Georgia State on Jan. 20 -- was 6 of 12 from the floor and had five assists for the Eagles (17-10, 8-6 Sun Belt), who snapped a three-game skid.

D'Marcus Simonds scored 21 points with nine rebounds before fouling out with a minute to go as the Panthers (19-8, 10-4) dropped their second straight after winning 10 in a row. They remain alone in second place behind 12-1 Louisiana with the Eagles alone in third.

Southern led the entire game and were up 73-63 with 3:46 to go when Simonds scored five straight points. The Eagles made their final field goal with 5:10 remaining but sank 12 of 15 free throws in the final 1 1/2 minutes when the Panthers got within three points three times.

The teams combined for 47 fouls with Georgia Southern making 25 of 37 free throws to 17 of 39 for Georgia State.