Championship Central
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Georgia State and Old Dominion scored clutch wins in the third round of the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Thursday evening at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The No. 8 seed in the tournament, Georgia State topped No. 9 seed Georgia Southern, 80-71, and advances to face No. 5 seed Marshall in the fourth round on Friday, March 7 at 5 p.m. CT. The teams split the regular season series, 1-1.
The No. 10 seed, Old Dominion ousted No. 7 seed Texas State, 64-61, on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Robert Davis Jr., with one second remaining. The Monarchs will meet No. 6 seed at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each team earned a road victory over the other in the two regular season matchups.
Game 5: (8) Georgia State def. (9) Georgia Southern, 80-71 (Box Score)
Georgia State had three senior scorers with at least 20 points apiece, led by senior guard Toneari Lane’s 22 with four 3-pointers made. Center and All-Sun Belt Second Team selection Cesare Edwards posted a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds while guard Zarique Nutter compiled 20 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Panthers shot 26-for-49 (.531) from the field, owned a 42-28 advantage on the glass and held the Eagles to 40 percent shooting in the contest.
Georgia State created separation midway through the first half with 10-straight points, capped by a Nutter transition layup, to create its first double-digit lead of the night, 34-23, with four minutes remaining in the first half. They shot 46 percent in the first half to take an eight-point advantage into halftime.
The Panthers stretched the margin as wide as 15 points for the first time, 51-36, on Lane’s fourth trey of the contest at the 14:44 mark. Trailing by 13 with 9:32 left, Georgia Southern stormed back with a 12-0 scoring run in just under three minutes to reduce the deficit to one. The Panthers would never surrender the lead from that point however and scored the final seven points of the contest to close out the nine-point victory.
Georgia Southern was led by junior guard and All-Sun Belt Third Team selection Adante’ Holiman’s game-high 25 points.
Game 6: (10) Old Dominion def. (7) Texas State, 64-61 (Box Score)
Davis led all players with 23 points and made six 3-pointers, while senior guard Sean Durugordon registered a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Monarchs to their second win of the tournament.
Old Dominion raced out to a 19-7 lead behind 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting by Durugordon who completed a four-point play with 11:40 left to create the Monarchs’ first double-digit lead. Texas State settled in before ripping off nine-straight points, capped by a Coleton Benson 3-pointer with 4:42 remaining to cut the deficit to just one, 24-23, and scored the final six points of the first half to take a 29-27 edge at the break.
The Monarchs used four-consecutive 3-pointers by Robert Davis Jr. to reclaim the lead, 42-35, just over four minutes into the second half. The Bobcats’ defense inflicted a cold spell causing Old Dominion to make just one of its next 14 shots, allowing Texas State to pull back in front, 57-51, with 5:33 to play.
Six-straight points by the Monarchs tied the game at 57 with three minutes to go, and despite ties at 59 and 61, the sideline inbounds play that led to Davis’ clutch trey lifted Old Dominion to its third straight win.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Tuesday, March 4
Game 1 – (12) Southern Miss def. (13) Coastal Carolina, 66-63
Game 2 – (11) Louisiana def. (14) ULM, 73-69 (OT)
Wednesday, March 5
Game 3 – (9) Georgia Southern 78, (12) Southern Miss 64
Game 4 – (10) Old Dominion 67, (11) Louisiana 49
Thursday, March 6
Game 5 – (8) Georgia State 80, (9) Georgia Southern 71
Game 6 – (10) Old Dominion 64, (7) Texas State 61
Friday, March 7
Game 7 – (5) Marshall vs. (8) Georgia State – 5 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 8 – (6) App State vs. (10) Old Dominion – 7:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Saturday, March 8
Game 9 – (4) Arkansas State vs. Winner Game 7 – 5:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 10 – (3) Troy vs. Winner Game 8 – 8 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Sunday, March 9
Game 11 – (1) South Alabama vs. Winner Game 9 – 5 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 12 – (2) James Madison vs. Winner Game 10 – 7:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Monday, March 10 (Championship)
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 6 p.m. CT [ESPN/ESPN2]