Championship Central

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Texas State and Marshall picked up wins and earned spots in the quarterfinals at the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship on Thursday at the Pensacola Bay Center. 

Ninth-seeded Georgia Southern defeated eighth-seeded South Alabama and fifth-seeded Louisiana ousted 13th-seeded Coastal Carolina in the early session, before 11th-seeded Texas State upset sixth-seeded Southern Miss and 10th-seeded Marshall shot its way past seventh-seeded Georgia State in the evening.

Quarterfinal matchups in the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship will tipoff Saturday, March 9 with the first of four games beginning at 11:30 a.m., at the Pensacola Bay Center. 

(9) Georgia Southern 76, (8) South Alabama 71 (Box Score)
Senior guard Tyren Moore led five Georgia Southern scorers in double-figures with 18 points, as the Eagles led wire-to-wire in their second-round victory over the Jaguars.

Freshman forward Avantae Parker compiled a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds to go with six blocks and three assists, while freshman guard Eren Banks chipped in 14 points and eight boards. Off the bench, sophomore forward Nate Brafford scored 13 points with three blocks while senior forward Cam Bryant added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Georgia Southern made nine of its first 13 shots in the game to build an early 23-11 advantage. Eagles led by as many as 13 but Marshall Kearing found his groove on offense for South Alabama making all three 3-point attempts to help the Jaguars cut the deficit to just three at halftime, 37-34.

Midway through the second half, the Eagles used a 7-0 scoring run capped by five-straight points on a Bryant dunk and 3-pointer to extend the lead to a dozen, 58-46, with just over 11 minutes remaining.

South Alabama worked its way to the free throw line by finishing the game 24-for-31 (.774) overall and made a late charge, but a late three by Georgia Southern redshirt senior guard Malik Tidwell inside the final 30 seconds put the game away to preserve the five-point win.

The Jaguars were led by senior guard Tyrell Jones’ game-high 22 points and four steals, while senior forward Marshall Kearing compiled 20 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks off the bench.

Georgia Southern moves on to challenge top-seeded App State in Saturday’s first quarterfinal matchup at 11:30 a.m.

(5) Louisiana 80, (13) Coastal Carolina 66 (Box Score)
Louisiana redshirt junior forward Kobe Julien led all players with 25 points and shot 10-for-15 from the field, while junior forward Hosana Kitenge added 13 points and six rebounds.

Junior forward Joe Charles added 10 rebounds and a game-high three steals, while junior guard Kentrell Garnett chipped in 11 points, four assists and three 3-pointers off the bench.

The Ragin’ Cajuns built a 20-point lead of the contest just three minutes into the second half, 51-31, while Coastal Carolina was unable to cut its deficit to single digits for the remainder of the contest, as the reigning champion Cajuns closed out the 14-point triumph.

Chanticleers’ freshman guard Jacob Meyer played all 40 minutes and scored a team-high 22 points, while redshirt junior Kylan Blackmon added 17 points. Senior forward Kevin Easley added a double-double off the bench with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Louisiana advances to meet fourth-seeded Arkansas State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

(11) Texas State 75, (6) Southern Miss 59 (Box Score)
Texas State received a clutch performance from junior guard Dontae Horne who scored 18 of his career-high 20 points off the bench while Jordan Mason added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Bobcats defeated sixth-seeded Southern Miss.
The Bobcats advanced to the quarterfinals as the No. 11 seed for the second year in a row after they reached the semifinals in 2023.

Southern Miss was led by senior forward Victor Hart’s 20 points, nine rebounds and five steals, while senior guard Austin Crowley added 16 points and a trio of 3-pointers and classmate Andre Curbelo contributed 10 points and a game-high seven assists.

Texas State advances to face third-seeded Troy on Saturday at 5 p.m.

(10) Marshall 86, (7) Georgia State 74 (Box Score)
Marshall senior guard Kamdyn Curfman scored a career-high 30 points and tied the Sun Belt Conference tournament individual record with nine 3-pointers made while also registering five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Curfman tied the league’s record for 3s made set by Jacksonville’s John Knox against Arkansas State in 1997.

Additionally, Curfman moved into sole possession of sixth place on the NCAA’s all-time list for 3-pointers made with 458, passing former Duke standout J.J. Redick.

Senior guard Kevon Voyles also scored 30 points on 12 made baskets to complement four rebounds, four assists and as many steals. Junior forward Nate Martin pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and dished out five assists.

The Thundering Herd made six of its first seven shots from the floor, including all four 3-point attempts, to build a 17-3 lead over the Panthers just over four minutes into the game. Georgia State would respond with a 15-3 run later in the period to claim a 25-24 advantage, but the Herd made eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to take a 41-36 lead into halftime.

The Panthers kept up with the Herd’s pace and pulled within one, 50-49, with a four-point play by redshirt sophomore guard Toneari Lane, but were unable to tie or overtake Marshall, who gradually expanded its advantage before completing the 12-point win.

Marshall advances to meet second-seeded James Madison on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship

Tuesday, March 5
Game 1 – (13) Coastal Carolina 75, (12) ULM 71
Game 2 – (11) Texas State 92, (14) Old Dominion 83 (OT)

Thursday, March 7
Game 3 – (9) Georgia Southern 76, (8) South Alabama 71
Game 4 – (5) Louisiana 80, (13) Coastal Carolina 66
Game 5 – (11) Texas State 75, (6) Southern Miss 59
Game 6 – (10) Marshall 86, (7) Georgia State 74

Saturday, March 9
Game 7 – (1) App State vs. (9) Georgia Southern – 11:30 a.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 8 – (4) Arkansas State vs. (5) Louisiana – 2 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 9 – (3) Troy vs. (11) Texas State – 5 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 10 – (2) James Madison vs. (10) Marshall – 7:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]

Sunday, March 10
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 5 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 7:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]

Monday, March 11 (Championship)
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 6 p.m. CT [ESPN2]

All Times Central