UTA 82, Appalachian State 72
BOONE, N.C. – The UT Arlington men's basketball team (5-11, 1-2 Sun Belt Conference) used a 54-point 2nd-half effort and held host Appalachian State (5-11, 0-3 SBC) below 40-percent shooting for the game en route to an 82-72 road league win Thursday night inside the Holmes Center. Junior Brian Warren led all scorers with 20 points, redshirt freshman David Azore recorded his first career double-double with a season-high-matching 16 points and a season-best 11 rebounds and junior TiAndre Jackson-Young scored all 14 of his points in the 2nd half to lead the Mavericks to a season-high point total versus a Division-I opponent and season-best 48.3-percent clip from the floor (28-58).
Texas State 65, Coastal Carolina 61
CONWAY, S.C. – The Texas State men's basketball team hung on to remain undefeated all-time in the HTC Center against Coastal Carolina following a 65-61 win Thursday night. The Bobcats have won all three meetings on the Chanticleers' home court with all of the contests decided by four points or less. With the win, Texas State improved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference while CCU fell to 7-8 on the season and 1-2 in conference play.
Georgia Southern 79, ULM 78
STATESBORO, Ga. – Quan Jackson buried a 3-pointer from the corner as the final buzzer sounded to lift Georgia Southern to a 79-78 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball win over ULM Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse. Trailing 78-76 after a pair of free throws by Daishon Smith, the Eagles inbounded the ball to Tookie Brownwith 4.8 on the clock. The senior guard raced up court looking to get to the basket, drew two defenders and kicked it to Jackson in the corner.
Georgia State 89, Louisiana 76
ATLANTA – Georgia State hit 13 3-pointers and shot 67.9 percent from the field in a dominant second half to top Louisiana 89-76 on Thursday at GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers remain undefeated in Sun Belt play while winning for the fifth-straight time. D’Marcus Simonds led four Panthers in double-digits with 21 points. Jeff Thomas scored 17, connecting on five 3-pointers. Malik Benlevi had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Devin Mitchell scored 13, knocking down three 3-pointers all in the second half. Georgia State (12-4, 3-0 Sun Belt) improved to 6-0 at home this season and has now won 16-straight games in the month of January dating back to 2017. The Panthers have also won seven straight home games dating back to last season.
Little Rock 73, Troy 59
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Thanks to a second-half surge, sparked by freshman Markquis Nowell's 14 points after intermission, Little Rock rallied from a nine-point first half deficit to take a convincing 73-59 victory over Troy at the Jack Stephens Center. Little Rock snaps its four-game losing streak and notches its first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season, improving to 6-10 overall and 1-2 in league play. Troy falls to 8-7 overall and matches the Trojans at 1-2 in Sun Belt play.
Arkansas State 66, South Alabama 65
JONESBORO, Ark. – Arkansas State used strong defense to get past South Alabama 66-65 Thursday at First National Bank Arena. A-State (8-8, 2-1 Sun Belt) improved to 6-0 on the home floor with the win and has held all six opponents below 40 percent from the field. Ty Cockfield paced the Red Wolves with 22 points while Marquis Eaton added 18 and Salif Boudie had 10 points and eight rebounds. Rodrick Sikes had a game-high 24 points to lead South Alabama (9-7, 2-1).