Appalachian State 72, Troy 64
BOONE, N.C. – Ronshad Shabazz became the program's all-time leader in field goals made as Appalachian State men's basketball defeated Troy 72-64 on Thursday evening inside the Holmes Center. The Mountaineers (11-19, 6-11 Sun Belt) clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament by virtue of the victory and loss by Little Rock.
Coastal Carolina 92, South Alabama 70
CONWAY, S.C. – Zac Cuthbertson led four Chanticleers in double figures with 28 points as Coastal Carolina defeated South Alabama 92-70. While the game was relatively close at halftime, CCU came out in the second half and slowly pulled away by shooting over 55 percent in leading by as many as 26 points late in the game. The game pushed CCU to a 15-14 overall record and even more important gave them a 9-8 conference record. Pushing them one game closer to one of the top six conference teams, meaning they would miss a first-round game.
Louisiana 77, Little Rock 72
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Cedric Russell scored 21 of his career-high 34 points in the second half and Louisiana rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to defeat Little Rock, 77-72, in a Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball game on Thursday at the Jack Stephens Center. P.J. Hardy scored all of his 15 points from behind the 3-point line as Louisiana (18-12, 9-8 Sun Belt) moved into a fifth-place tie with Coastal Carolina heading into the regular-season finale on Saturday. Little Rock, which dropped its fifth-straight game and was eliminated qualifying for next week’s Sun Belt Tournament, fell to 10-20 overall and 5-12 in league play.
Arkansas State 73, ULM 72
JONESBORO, Ark. – Ty Cockfield II scored a game-high 26 points, Grantham Gillard added a career-high 25 and Marquis Eaton hit a pair of game-winning free throws with seven seconds left to lift the Arkansas State men’s basketball team to a 73-72 Sun Belt Conference victory over ULM Thursday night at First National Bank Arena. With the victory, A-State (13-17, 7-10 Sun Belt) secured a spot in next week’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament. ULM (15-14, 8-9) suffered its second straight setback and now sits one game above A-State in the Sun Belt standings at seventh place.