SUN BELT MEN
TEXAS-ARLINGTON 76, UALR 65
Nikola Maric scored 13 points to lead four University of Arkansas at Little Rock (18-9, 12-4) players with 10 or more points, but it wasn't enough as the Trojans fell to Texas-Arlington (12-15, 8-8) on Saturday at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
The Mavericks used a 13-2 run over the game's final 4:18 to pull away for the victory, while the Trojans hit 1 of their final 7 shots from the floor. Maric made a layup with 4:37 remaining that tied the game at 63-63 before the run started. Jabari Narcis made a three-pointer from the right side to start the run, which ended when Jovan Stulic made a layup with 1:18 left and cut the Mavericks' lead to 74-65. Narcis finished the scoring with a second-chance bucket with 47 seconds remaining.
The Trojans shot 43% (23 of 54) from the floor, including 4-of-18 (22%) shooting from the three-point line, and hit 15 of 23 free throws (65%). The Mavericks shot 41% (25 of 61) from the floor, going 5 of 17 from the three-point line and 21 of 27 from the free-throw line. UALR outscored Texas-Arlington 32-18 in the lane, but the Mavericks outrebounded the Trojans 42-34 and scored 20 points off 17 UALR turnovers.
Ben Coupet had 12 points for UALR, while Markquis Nowell finished with 11 and Ruot Monyyong added 10. Brian Warren led Texas-Arlington with a game-high 21 points, Sam Griffin poured in 17 and Jordan Phillips had 12.
TEXAS STATE 69,
ARKANSAS STATE 64
Arkansas State University (15-12, 7-9 Sun Belt Conference) cut a 20-point second half deficit to three, but came up short against Texas State (17-10, 10-6) in San Marcos, Texas.
Texas State opened the game on a 20-4 run as Arkansas State went 1-of-14 shooting from the floor with 10 turnovers to start the game. ASU shot 19% (5 of 26) from the floor in the first half and finished with 12 turnovers while going to the free-throw line just twice.
The Red Wolves used a 10-2 run midway through the second half, cutting the lead to 48-37 with 9:18 remaining. The lead shrunk to 60-51 with 2:59 to play, but Texas State got two consecutive offensive rebounds while taking over a minute off the clock before stretching the lead to 11 points.
Jerry Johnson and Caleb Fields hit three-pointers to cut the lead to seven with 36.6 seconds left. ASU forced a turnover that resulted in a layup, then got another three-pointer from Fields -- coming after Texas State split two free throws -- that cut the lead to 67-64 with 14 seconds left.
Fields led the Red Wolves with 19 points, while Johnson finished with 14 and Marquis Eaton added 12. Nijal Pearson scored a game-high 27 points to lead Texas State.
SOUTHLAND MEN
SAM HOUSTON STATE 82, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 67
Hayden Koval scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome Kai Mitchell's game-high 30 points as the University of Central Arkansas (9-17, 8-7 Southland Conference) fell to Sam Houston State (17-9, 10-5) at Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas.
The Bearkats led the entire game, holding a 47-34 halftime lead and outscoring the Bears 35-33 in the second half. UCA shot 41.4% (23 of 56) from the floor, including 6-of-24 shooting (25%) from the three-point line, and hit 15 of 23 (65.2%) free throws. Sam Houston State shot 42.9% (30 of 70) from the floor, which included six three-pointers, and went 16 of 23 (69.6%) from the free-throw line. The Bears outrebounded the Bearkats 36-32, but were outscored in the lane 32-28. Sam Houston State turned 24 UCA turnovers into 32 points.
Eddy Kayouloud had 16 points and Aaron Weidenaar added 10 for UCA, which had won its past two games. Mitchell scored his 30 points for Sam Houston State on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, while Zach Nutall scored 21 and RJ Smith chipped in with 11.
SWAC MEN
SOUTHERN 73, UAPB 49
Zavian Jackson scored 14 points, but was the only player for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (3-21, 2-10 Southwestern Athletic Conference) to score more than 10 points in a loss to Southern (10-15, 7-5) at the F.G. Clark Activity Center in Baton Rouge.
The Golden Lions did not shoot well from the floor, going 16 of 45 (35.6%) overall and 4 of 11 (36.4%) from the three-point line. Southern shot better from the floor overall, going 28 of 62 (45.2%), but hit 5 of 21 (23.8%) three-pointers and 12 of 21 (57.1%) free throws. The Jaguars outrebounded the Golden Lions 40-26, including a 13-6 edge on the offensive glass, while holding a 40-20 scoring advantage in the lane. Southern also scored 17 fast-break points and scored 16 points off UAPB turnovers.
Lamarcus Lee, Amel Kuljuhovic and Skyler Baggs scored 10 points each to lead Southern.
SUN BELT WOMEN
TEXAS STATE 83,
ARKANSAS STATE 69
Arkansas State University (9-15, 6-7 Sun Belt Conference) allowed Texas State (10-14, 3-10) to shoot 62% from the floor in the first half and lost to the Bobcats at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
Texas State led 27-19 at the end of the first quarter and 47-39 at halftime.
Da'Nasia Hood scored a game-high 21 points for the Bobcats, who finished 29 of 61 (47.5%) from the floor overall. Brooke Holle finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jayla Johnson also had 15 points and Jaeda Reed added 12 points.
Jireh Washington led ASU with 15 points. Kayla Williams had 14 points and Trinitee Jackson added 11 points.
SOUTHLAND WOMEN
SAM HOUSTON STATE 73, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 58
The University of Central Arkansas (11-13, 7-8 Southland Conference) held a 52-48 lead through three quarters of Saturday's game at Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas, but Sam Houston State (17-7, 12-3) outscored the Sugar Bears 25-6 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory.
UCA hit just 2 of 13 shots (15.4%) in the fourth quarter, while Sam Houston State went 7 of 12 (58.3%) from the floor, including two three-pointers, and 9 of 13 from the free-throw line. The Sugar Bears finished with 25-of-60 shooting (41.7%) from the floor, while the Bearkats went 24-of-59 shooting from the floor (40.7%). UCA won the rebounding battle 45-31, including 15-10 on the offensive glass, but Sam Houston State outscored UCA 12-8 in second-chance points and turned 20 UCA turnovers into 19 points.
Terri Crawford led UCA with 17 points, a season-high 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Taylor Sells had 12 points for the Sugar Bears, while Hannah Langhi added 11 points and 8 rebounds. Jaylonn Walker had 16 points to lead Sam Houston State and Amber Leggett chipped in with 15.
SWAC WOMEN
SOUTHERN 85, UAPB 61
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (4-18, 3-9 Southwestern Athletic Conference) shot 29% from the floor in a loss to Southern (11-12, 9-3) at the F.G. Clark Activity Center in Baton Rouge.
The Golden Lions were held to nine points in the first quarter and were outscored 38-25 in the first half. UAPB then went 8-of-26 shooting (30.8%) in the second half while being outscored 47-36. The Golden Lions outrebounded the jaguars 39-31, including a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass, but Southern outscored UAPB 34-24 in the lane on top of scoring 23 fast-break points, getting 52 points off the bench and getting 27 points off UAPB turnovers.
Aiya El Hassan led UAPB with 15 points, Katherine Darden had 14 and Tyler Pyburn contributed 13. Amani McWain scored a game-high 20 points for Southern, while Brittany Rose added 15.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sports on 02/16/2020