SUN BELT MEN
TROY 84,
ARKANSAS STATE 79
Troy held off a late second half rally by the Arkansas State University and got a 20-point performance from Javan Johnson to win in Troy, Ala.
Ty Cockfield II had a game-high 27 points to lead ASU (10-14, 4-7 Sun Belt). JJ Matthews tied his career high with 15 points while Canberk Kus added 11 points. Troy (11-12, 4-7) was led by Johnson's 20 points.
ASU got out to a 7-3 lead, but did not take a lead after that point. The first half featured six ties and three lead changes, but the Red Wolves struggled to 33 percent (11 of 33) from the field while the Trojans (11-12, 4-7) hit 33 percent (5 of 15) from three-point range and led 36-34 at the half.
After scoring the first basket of the second half to tie the game, ASU quickly faced its largest deficit of the game at 15 points (64-49) with less than 10 minutes to play. The Red Wolves reduced the margin to five on three occasions, but the Trojans answered each time with three-pointers on those ensuing possessions.
The Red Wolves struggled to 37 percent (23 of 62) for the game and hit 5 of 20 (25 percent) beyond the arc. ASU held a 39-31 rebounding advantage, including a 17-4 edge in offensive rebounds.
UALR 73, SOUTH ALABAMA 68
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to earn its second consecutive road victory and first Sun Belt road sweep since 2016, upending South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.
Trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half and 38-29 at the break, UALR (9-15, 4-7 Sun Belt) outscored South Alabama 44-30 in the second half to secure the victory.
UALR, which missed its first 13 three-point attempts, shot 50 percent in the second half, finishing the game at 42 percent from the floor.
South Alabama took a 38-29 lead at the half, but UALR's Rayjon Tucker rallied the Trojans, scoring 16 of UALR's first 20 points through the first eight minutes of the second half and giving the Trojans their first lead of the game at 49-47 on a three-pointer at the 12-minute mark. Tucker finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds.
The Jaguars rallied to tie the game at 60-60 with seven minutes remaining, but UALR came up with clutch free throws in the final minutes, including two from Deondre Burns to ice the victory.
Kamani Johnson, who made 9 of his 13 free throws while adding 6 rebounds, scored a career-high 15 points for UALR. Nikola Maric and Markquis Nowell both finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds.
SOUTHLAND MEN
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 75,
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 67
Southeastern Louisiana made 23 of 28 attempts at the free-throw line in the second half to down the University of Central Arkansas at the Farris Center in Conway.
The Bears (10-14, 5-6 Southland) made 11 of 13 at the line in the first half compared with just 3 of 4 for the Lions (11-13, 7-4). That discrepancy evened up dramatically in the second half as UCA fell behind late and was forced to foul. Southeastern Louisiana made 13 of 16 at the line in the final 3:40 to hold onto its lead and even the season series.
UCA, which won the first meeting in Hammond, La., 73-71, had four players in double figures, led by sophomore center Hayden Koval with 14 points. DeAndre Jones added 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Thatch Unruh scored 11 points and Eddy Kayouloud added 10.
The Bears shot 34 percent overall for the game, including 6 of 24 (25 percent) from three-point range. UCA was 3 of 16 from the perimeter in the final 20 minutes. The Bears were outrebounded 41-24 but forced the Lions into 20 turnovers and scored 23 points off of them.
Marlain Veal finished with 21 points, including 11 of 12 at the line, for the Lions. Moses Greenwood added 20 points and 11 rebounds.
SWAC MEN
UAPB 75,
ALABAMA STATE 69
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff broke a 60-60 tie with 4:54 left on a jumper by Shaun Doss and held off Alabama State down the stretch to earn the victory in Montgomery, Ala.
Doss scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Golden Lions (8-15, 5-5 SWAC). Mataevous McKnight added 15 points, and Terrance Banyard scored 10.
Although Alabama State outrebounded UAPB 40-32, the Golden Lions shot 57.1 percent from the floor compared with 38.6 percent for the Hornets. UAPB made 6 of 11 three-pointers, but Alabama State made just 4 of 18.
Reginald Gee and Tobi Ewuosho each had 12 points for the Hornets (8-13, 6-4). Ewuosho also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
SUN BELT WOMEN
TROY 100,
ARKANSAS STATE 89
Arkansas State University had five players score at least 13 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Troy team that connected on 14 of 27 three-pointers to win in at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
Peyton Martin posted a game-high 17 points for the Red Wolves (9-13, 4-7 Sun Belt), who had 16 points each from Jireh Washington, Morgan Wallace and Akasha Westbrook. Jada Ford added 13 points.
Wallace posted 11 rebounds to tie a career-high, and her double-double was her third this season. Washington not only finished with a career-best points total but also tied her career high for assists with six.
ASU connected on a season-high 49.2 percent of its shots, and its 89 points were its most in regulation this season, but Troy (17-5, 8-3) countered with a 51.9 three-point percentage that was higher than its overall 43.0 mark from the field. The Trojans' 14 three-pointers were one shy of tying the arena record held by the Red Wolves.
Troy also had five players score in double figures, including Kayla Robinson with a team-high 16 points.
SOUTHLAND WOMEN
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 75,
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 33
The University of Central Arkansas took a 28-10 first-quarter lead on its way to the blowout victory over Southeastern Louisiana at the Farris Center in Conway.
Kamry Orr powered the Sugar Bears (9-12, 4-7 Southland) with 23 points. Alana Canady added 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Antonija Bozic scored 11.
Although the Lions (8-13, 4-6) outrebounded the Sugar Bears 33-32, Central Arkansas shot 48.9 percent from the floor compared with 27.7 percent for Southeastern Louisiana.
UCA, which had a 31-2 advantage in points scored on turnovers, made 5 of 12 three-pointers, while the Southeastern Louisiana managed just 1 of 7.
Caitlyn Williams led Southeastern Louisiana with 10 points.
SWAC WOMEN
ALABAMA STATE 73,
UAPB 52
Alabama State overcame a 14-9 first-quarter deficit to lead 51-36 through three quarters en route to the victory in Montgomery, Ala.
Alabama State, which outrebounded UAPB 50-32 and scored 17 points on second chances, took its first lead on a layup by Tatyana Calhoun with 2:34 left in the second quarter. Alabama State never trailed from there, leading by as many as 21 points with 6:52 left in the game.
Shawntayla Harris led the Lady Lions (4-13, 1-9 SWAC) with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Noe'll Taylor added 10 points.
Ayana Emmanuel scored 16 points, and Shmya Ward added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Hornets (8-13, 7-3), who got 39 points from their bench compared with 12 for the Golden Lions.
Sports on 02/10/2019