Louisiana pulls away in 2nd half, secures conference title
MOBILE, Ala. -- Jerekius Davis came off the bench to post a career-high 18 points before the break as Louisiana gradually pulled away in the second period to beat South Alabama 88-71 for its fifth consecutive Sun Belt Conference win on Saturday night.
Louisiana (25-4, 15-1) which clinched the conference regular-season title, tied the school record with its 25th victory. The Ragin' Cajuns will have a first-round bye and start the conference tournament on March 9. South Alabama (14-15, 7-9) will play in the opening round on March 7.
Davis and Nick Davis had a shooting battle in the first half as Nick Davis drilled five from distance to tally 17 points before intermission. Jerekius Davis was 6 of 8 from the floor, hitting 3 of 3 from beyond the arc as Louisiana led 45-43 at the break. Both were quiet in the second half as Jerekius Davis finished with 20 points.
Johnathan Stove had 14 of his 16 points in the final half as Louisiana led 73-56 with 8:15 remaining.
Frank Bartley IV had 17 points and Bryce Washington chipped in 11 with 13 rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns.
Nick Davis led South Alabama with a career-high 20 points and Rodrick Sikes added 14.
Miller scores late to help Troy hold off ULM 73-67
TROY, Ala. -- B.J. Miller scored his only points in the final minutes of the game to help Troy secure a 73-67 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday afternoon.
ULM's Travis Munnings and Sam McDaniel nailed consecutive 3s to close to 66-63 with 1:46 left. Miller scored the first of his nine points on a layup before McDaniel drained his trey. Miller followed with a 3-pointer and made two free throws for a 71-63 lead with 39 seconds remaining. He added two more free throws with 12 seconds left to seal the victory.
Jordon Varnado led the way for the Trojans (14-15, 8-8 Sun Belt Conference) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Wesley Person added 17 to surpass 2,000 career points and become the only player in Troy history to accomplish the feat. Alex Hicks added 17 points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
Travis Munnings had 26 points with nine boards for the Warhawks (14-13, 8-8), who had won five straight.
Both teams remain in a battle for the coveted No. 4 seed into the conference tournament, where the top four earn a first-round bye. All 12 teams make the tournament.
Neal, Hervey help UTA upset Georgia State 89-81
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Erick Neal flirted with a triple-double as UT Arlington upset Georgia State 89-81 in Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory UTA (18-12, 9-8) moved a step closer to securing the coveted No. 4 seed for the conference tournament which begins in New Orleans on March 7. The Mavericks are fourth in the conference standings with one game remaining before the tournament. ULM and Troy trail the Mavericks by half a game. The top four teams get a first-round bye.
Neal finished with 24 points, including seven from deep, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Hervey led the Mavericks with 28 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Johnny Hamilton finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks. The third block gave him 71 for the season to set a UTA single-season record.
Devin Mitchell had 25 points, hitting 7 of 12 from distance, for Georgia State (20-9, 11-5) which remains a firm second place behind Louisiana in the standings. D'Marcus Simonds added 18 points.
Smith scores 25, Georgia Southern beats Texas State 81-77
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Ike Smith scored 25 points with five 3-pointers, Tookie Brown scored all of his 16 points in the second half, and third-place Georgia Southern beat Texas State 81-77 on Saturday to split the season series.
Mike Hughes scored 19 points for the Eagles (18-11, 9-7 Sun Belt Conference), who hit 10 3s and shot 54.9 percent from the field.
Georgia Southern led 67-60 with 3:42 left after Smith and Brown hit 3s while the Bobcats were scoreless for more than three minutes. Brown's back-to-back jumpers put the Eagles up by seven, but Immanuel King's layup cut it to 75-70 with 25 seconds left before Hughes' two free throws iced it.
Tre'Larenz Nottingham scored a career-high 27 points with seven 3s, Nijal Pearson added 15 points and King had 10 for the Bobcats (14-16, 7-10), who have lost eight straight.
Pearson's 3 capped a 10-2 run for a seven-point lead, but the Eagles scored six straight and trailed 36-34 at halftime.
Forrest, Shabazz help Appalachian State fend off Little Rock
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Justin Forrest and Ronshad Shabazz each scored 18 points and Tyrell Johnson made a critical shot block and Appalachian State turned back Little Rock 69-67 Saturday night.
Nursing a 65-62 lead with 18 seconds left in the game, Johnson blocked Little Rock's K.J. Gilmore on a drive to the basket, and Craig Hinton grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Hinton sank both for Appalachian State (13-17, 8-9 Sun Belt), making it a two possession game.
Little Rock's leading scorer Jaizec Lottie made two baskets in the last nine seconds, but it wasn't enough. Shabazz answered the first bucket with a pair of free throws and Lottie hit from 3 as time ran out. Lottie tied his career high 17 points for the Trojans (6-23, 3-13).
Little Rock held a slight edge on the boards, but Appalachian State pulled down 20 of its 26 rebounds off the defensive glass.
Shabazz made four of Appalachian State's 13 3-pointers. The Mountaineers are in a crowd of six teams lurking within a game of each other for fourth and fifth place in the Sun Belt.
Coastal Carolina hangs on to beat Arkansas State 88-81
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Tyrell Gumbs-Frater drilled six from beyond the arc to total 24 points and lead Coastal Carolina to an 88-81 win over Arkansas State in Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday night.
Coastal Carolina jumped out to a 46-35 halftime advantage and pushed that to 57-44 before the Red Wolves gradually closed the gap to trail 61-58 following Connor Kern's 3 with 11:27 remaining. The Chanticleers charged back to extend their advantage to 77-68 with 5:11 left.
Tristin Walley then scored nine unanswered points and Ty Cockfield added a layup for a 79-77 lead. The Chanticleers responded with an 11-2 run, capped by Zac Cuthbertson's dunk with seven seconds remaining.
The game got off to a late start due to a storm that damaged a vent over midcourt.
Cuthbertson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for Coastal Carolina (14-16, 8-9).
Cockfield drained 6 of 10 from distance to total a career-best 35 points for Arkansas State (10-19, 5-11).