GEORGIA STATE 82, UALR 69
UALR held multiple leads in the second half and was within a point with less than 11 minutes to play, but Georgia State pulled away over to extend its home win streak to 18 games Saturday in front of 1,269 fans at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta.
J.T. Thomas' three-pointer with 10:41 to play pulled UALR within 52-51, but Georgia State (9-4, 2-0 Sun Belt) scored seven consecutive points over the next 1:27 to jump-start a 22-4 run that put the game out of reach. UALR did not make another field goal until Ben Dillard hit a three-pointer with 2:41 left.
Ryan Harrow began the spurt with a runner that put GSU's lead at 54-51. On the Panthers' next possession, Harrow was fouled and a technical was called on the Trojans' Josh Hagins. R.J. Hunter and Harrow combined to hit all four free throws to make it 58-51 with 9:14 to play.
Another made free throw by Hunter pushed GSU's lead to eight, and the only points UALR (5-7, 0-2) scored over the next eight minutes came on four James White free throws. The Panthers' lead grew to 19 points after a breakaway dunk by Hunter made it 74-55 with 2:51 left.
James Reid and Dillard led UALR with 14 points each, while James White and Thomas added 12 and 10, respectively.
The Trojans had a season-high 19 assists on 22 field goals, led by Hagins (7) and Dillard (5). Georgia State forced 17 UALR turnovers.
Harrow led Georgia State with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Kevin Ware came off the bench to score 21 while R.J. Hunter scored 14 points, with 11 of those coming in the second half.
Georgia State led 37-32 at halftime.
The second half started with UALR scoring nine of the first 12 points with five consecutive points from Reid giving the Trojans to grab a 41-40 lead, its first advantage since the 10:24 mark of the first half.
The two teams began trading baskets from there. Georgia State ran off the next four to take a three-point lead before a Thomas three-pointer from the corner tied the game at 44-44.
A three-pointer by Dillard from the wing gave the Trojans a 48-47 lead with 13:02 to play.
APPALACHIAN STATE 74,
ARKANSAS STATE 73
Arkansas State held a 14-point lead with 10:18 remaining, but Appalachian State outscored the Red Wolves 33-18 the rest of the way to earn its first Sun Belt victory at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
Appalachian State (4-6, 1-0) went 12-of-20 from the floor in the final 10 minutes to erase the Arkansas State (6-5, 1-1) lead. The Mountaineers grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the second half, all coming during the game-clinching run.
“We just gave that game away,” ASU Coach John Brady said. “I’ve been here a number of years and that’s probably the most disappointing loss because we had that game won. We couldn’t stop them down the stretch and we couldn’t rebound the ball.”
Arkansas State finished with 10 turnovers, but eight came in the second half, which Appalachian State converted into 10 points. After shooting 34 percent from the floor in the first half, the Mountaineers improved to 56 percent in the second half.
Guard Frank Eaves led the Mountaineers with 22 points and Milos Kostic added 11, including 3 three-pointers, all in the second half.
Anthony Livingston led Arkansas State with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while PJ Hardwick had 10 points and 15 assists. Sean Gardner added 17 points and Cameron Golden chipped in 11.
SUN BELT WOMEN
Dawn, Gault pace UALR
Alexius Dawn scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, including five three-pointers, and Taylor Gault added a season-high 21 points as UALR won its fifth consecutive Sun Belt regular-season game with a 75-55 victory over Georgia State on Saturday in front of 514 fans at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta.
With the game tied at 19-19 midway through the first half, UALR (9-2, 2-0) went on an 18-3 run that lasted nearly seven minutes to put the game out of reach. Gault, who scored 17 points in the first half, gave the Trojans a 37-22 lead with a minute left in the first half after hitting four consecutive free throws.
UALR led 39-26 at halftime and never led by fewer than 11 points in the second half. The Trojans outscored the Panthers 38-28 in the lane, 28-15 in points off turnovers and 14-8 in fast break points.
Shanity James scored 14 points and Kaitlyn Pratt added 12 for UALR. Alisa Andrews led Georgia State (6-5, 1-1) with 11 points.
ARKANSAS STATE 89, APPALACHIAN STATE 75
Jasmine Hunt scored a career-high 19 points as five Arkansas State players scored 10 or more points to lead the Red Wolves to a victory at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
Aundrea Gamble scored 16 points for Arkansas State (7-5, 2-0), while Hanna Qedan had 15, Jessica Flanery added 13 and Khadija Brown-Haywood chipped in 12. The Red Wolves shot 46.5 percent from the floor, including 36.8 percent from the three-point line, and set a Convocation Center record with five turnovers. The previous low was eight set in 1990 and tied in 1998.
"We got a lot of people involved, which is always good to do," Arkansas State Coach Brian Boyer said. "To finish a game with only five turnovers, especially against a group as good as this one is a great accomplishment. We did a great job of taking care of the basketball."
The Red Wolves led 70-49 with 11:01 in the game after consecutive three-pointers from Flanery to cap an 8-0 run. Appalachian State never got within single digits as Arkansas State held a lead of 10 or more points at 4:32 remaining in the first half through the rest of the game.
KeKe Cooper led the Mountaineers (5-5, 0-1) with 17 points. Maryah Syndor scored 14 points for the Panthers, while Bria Huffman had 11 and Katie Mallow added 10.
SWAC MEN
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ST. 67, UAPB 63
JoVaughn Love scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for UAPB, but it was not enough as Mississippi Valley State won the SWAC opener for both schools at H.O. Clemmon Arena in Pine Bluff. Jordan Washington scored 17 points to lead MVSU (2-12, 1-0). Latrell Love had 13 points and DeAngelo Priar added 12 for the Delta Devils. Marcel Mosley scored 14 points for the Golden Lions (3-12, 0-1). Thaddeus Handley and Ghiavonni Robinson added 10 points each.
SWAC WOMEN
UAPB 65, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 47
Ajia Richardson scored a team-high 15 points and UAPB held Mississippi Valley State scoreless over the final 8:35 in front of 382 fans at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
Destiny Brewton scored 13 points and Carlisha Walker added 12 for the Golden Lions (3-9, 1-0 SWAC), who shot 34.4 percent from the floor and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line. UAPB outscored Mississippi Valley State 32-12 in the lane, 24-7 in points off turnovers, 10-0 in fast-break points and 17-12 in bench scoring.
Ashley Beals scored a game-high 20 points in the loss for Mississippi Valley State (2-10, 0-1), which shot 25.5 percent from the floor and 67.9 percent from the free-throw line. Kadesha Floyd added 12 points for MVSU.
Sports on 01/04/2015