Championship Central
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Marshall and Old Dominion punched tickets to the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Friday evening at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The No. 5 seed in the tournament, Marshall outlasted No. 8 seed Georgia State, 79-76, and advances to face No. 4 seed Arkansas State in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Thundering Herd defeated the Red Wolves, 77-72, in Huntington, W.Va., in their lone regular season meeting on Feb. 5.
The No. 10 seed, Old Dominion won its third-straight game in the tournament in defeating No. 6 seed App State, 61-56. The Monarchs will face No. 3 seed Troy on Saturday at 8 p.m. The matchup will be the first between Old Dominion and Troy this season.
Game 7: (5) Marshall def. (8) Georgia State, 79-76 (Box Score)
Graduate forward and All-Sun Belt Second Team selection Obinna Anochili-Killen converted a game-winning three-point play on a pass from junior guard Dezayne Mingo with 1.8 seconds remaining to give Marshall the win.
The Sun Belt’s Defensive Player of the Year, Anochili-Killen finished with 16 points and four blocks, while Mingo led the team with 19 points and eight assists. Graduate guard Jalen Speer added 18 points.
Marshall scored the first seven points of the game before Georgia State rallied to tie the game at 14 on a 3-pointer by All-Sun Belt Second Team selection Cesare Cesare Edwards at the 12:16 mark of the first half. The Panthers eventually pulled in front by as many as 10 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor in the period and holding the Herd to just 31 percent before taking a 39-34 advantage into halftime.
Georgia State widened the margin to as many as eight points in the second half until the Herd took their first lead, 74-72, since holding a 24-23 edge with 6:09 left in the first half on a pair of Mingo free throws with 1:42 to go to cap an 8-0 scoring run. The game would be tied two more times in the final 1:05 of the game before Anochili-Killen’s winning basket.
Georgia State redshirt freshman guard Jelani Hamilton led all players with 28 points on 9-for-19 shooting with six rebounds. Senior guard Zarique Nutter added 19 points, while senior center and Edwards added 15 points and nine boards.
Game 8: (10) Old Dominion def. (6) App State, 61-56 (Box Score)
All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team selection and senior guard Sean Durugordon recorded a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore guard Robert Davis Jr., added 18 points and made four 3-pointers.
Both teams were unable to sustain scoring runs, as the first-half scoreboard was never wider than four points until App State scored the final seven points of the period to take a 36-30 lead into the intermission.
Old Dominion reclaimed the lead, 44-41, with eight-straight points, but the Mountaineers punched right back with seven-straight points as part of a 10-2 run of their own to hold a 51-46 advantage at the 8:48 mark. The game of runs continued when the Monarchs responded once more with a 9-0 scoring run over the subsequent four minutes to pull ahead, 55-51.
App State endured a scoring drought that last over six-and-a-half minutes before a three-point play by senior guard and All-Sun Belt First Team pick Myles Tate with 2:09 to go pulled the Mountaineers back within one point. App State was unable to reclaim the lead as the Monarchs made free throws to close out the five-point win.
The Mountaineers were led by redshirt senior forward C.J. Huntley’s double-double comprising a team-leading 18 points and 12 rebounds.
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 79, (8) Georgia State 76
Game 8 – (10) Old Dominion 61, (6) App State 56
Saturday, March 8
Game 9 – (4) Arkansas State vs. (5) Marshall – 5:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 10 – (3) Troy vs. (10) Old Dominion – 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]