SUN BELT MEN
ARKANSAS STATE 64,
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 63
Rashad Lindsey’s jumper at the buzzer gave Arkansas State University a 64-63 victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday at FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fla.
After playing to a 29-29 halftime tie, there were 8 more ties in the second half, the last coming after an Anthony Adger jumper for Florida Atlantic to make it 58-58 with 3:47 remaining. Tamas Bruce fouled Gerdarius Troutman as he tried to shoot a three-pointer, and Troutman hit all three free throws to give the Owls a 61-58 lead with 2:56 left.
Lindsey made a jumper with 1:39 remaining to cut the FAU lead to 61-60. Justin Massey made two free throws to push the lead to 63-60 with 45 seconds left, but Simms answered with a jumper to cut the lead to 63-62 with 32 seconds on the clock. ASU called a timeout, and on the following FAU possession Lindsey stole the ball from Troutman with 19 seconds left. Ty Cockfield missed a layup with six seconds left but got his own rebound, setting up Lindsey’s game-winning shot. Simms led the Red Wolves with 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and Cockfield added 16. Ronald Delph led the Owls with 16 points, while Troutman finished with 15 and Adger chipped in 13.
SUN BELT WOMEN
KANSAS STATE 66, UALR 51
Raeyana DeGray led the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s women’s team in scoring for the fifth time in the past six games, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Peyton Williams’ career-high 25 points as the Trojans fell to Kansas State 66-51 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan. DeGray scored 14 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 2 steals for the Trojans (3-7), while Keanna Keys added 12 points and Anna Hurlburt chipped in with 11. UALR used a 10-0 run to take a 14-9 lead in the first quarter, but Kansas State (7-2) responded with its own 10-0 run to lead 19-14 at the end of the quarter. The Wildcats extended their lead in the second quarter by holding the Trojans to 3-of-14 shooting (21.4 percent) from the floor. UALR was held to 4-of-13 shooting in the third quarter as Kansas State used a 7-0 run and a 5-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Hurlburt scored 7 of UALR’s 12 points in a 12-0 fourth-quarter run as the Trojans outscored the Wildcats 19-12 in the quarter.
UALR ended the game shooting 32.3 percent (20 of 62) from the floor, while Kansas State shot 47.9 percent (23 of 48). Both teams grabbed 33 rebounds, but the Trojans had more assists (7-6) and fewer turnovers (16-14). The Wildcats held advantages in assists (18-12) and blocks (5-2). Kansas State went 15 of 17 from the free-throw line and UALR was 8 of 10. Rachel Ranke scored 13 points for Kansas State, while Shaelyn Martin pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with 4 points and Kayla Goth had 10 assists and 8 points.
ARKANSAS STATE 76,
GRAMBLING STATE 56
Akasha Westbrook scored 16 points and Lauren Bradshaw added 11 points and 10 rebounds as Arkansas State University (5-5) defeated Grambling State (3-5) at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro. Grambling State jumped out to an 8-0 lead as ASU missed its first five shots and didn’t score until the 6:41 mark of the first quarter. The Red Wolves went on a 13-0 run over the next 3:30 to take a 13-8 lead. ASU led by 13 at one point late in the second quarter and took a 34-24 lead at halftime.
The Red Wolves maintained a 10-point lead at the end of the third quarter and led comfortably throughout the fourth quarter. Despite outrebounding the Tigers by six, the Red Wolves were outscored by six points in the lane. ASU held advantages in points off turnovers (27-24) and points off the bench (39-19).
Deja McKinney and Laneisha Jeans scored 15 points each to lead Grambling State, while Monisha Neal added 11 points.
SWAC MEN
WEBER STATE 96, UAPB 74
Jerrick Harding scored 30 points and Weber State snapped a three-game skid with a victory over winless University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday night in Ogden, Utah.
Harding made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 on three-pointers, and 8 of 9 free throws for the Wildcats (5-5), who kicked off a six-game home stand. Ryan Richardson hit 4 of 7 from long range and scored 16, while Zach Braxton chipped in with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Martaveous McKnight paced the Golden Lions (0-12), who fell to 0-9 on the road this season and have lost 18 consecutive spanning two seasons, with 27 points and 7 assists. Trent Steen added 18 points, while Joe’Randle Toliver came off the bench to hit 3 three-pointers and score 11. Weber State shot 63 percent in the first half and led 44-33 at the break. Harding scored nine consecutive points at the start of the second half to give the Wildcats a 53-37 lead, and they cruised from there.
SOUTHLAND WOMEN
SOUTH ALABAMA 64,
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 43
The University of Central Arkansas entered Saturday’s game against South Alabama ranked 18th in the country with a 47.2 field goal percentage, but they shot 27.9 percent from the floor — including 11 percent in the first quarter — in a loss to South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.
UCA’s poor shooting in the first quarter gave South Alabama a 16-point lead. Despite holding the Jaguars (7-3) to five second-quarter points, the Sugar Bears (5-4) trailed 25-14 at halftime — their lowest first half total of the season.
The offense improved in the third quarter, as UCA shot 37.5 percent from the floor, but the defense allowed 25 points as South Alabama led 50-29 going into the fourth quarter. Each team scored 14 points in the final quarter.
“There’s no excuse about finals, no excuses from travel — they had plenty of sleep,” UCA Coach Sandra Rushing said. “I’m disappointed in just the lack of effort and focus, that’s the bottom line.
“[South Alabama] did what they wanted to when they wanted to. They outworked us for every ball, and when they got physical we backed down, and I felt like we’re wanting to pout. We let our offense dictate our defense, and that’s not us. Just because shots are not falling, we wanted to drop our heads, and you can’t do that.” Taylor Baudoin had 10 points and 9 rebounds for the Sugar Bears, who fell to 2-4 against Sun Belt Conference teams. Savannah Jones had 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor to lead the Jaguars, while Chyna Ellis added 16 points.