Despite Louisiana's win over Georgia Southern, the Eagles are still in a tie for first place in the Sun Belt Conference.  The 68-58 loss was the fifth in league play for Georgia Southern, but they and Georgia State got some help from a most unlikely source on Saturday, creating a three way tie for first place entering the final week.

GEORGIA STATE 75, TROY 64--In Troy, Ryan Harrow scored 17 points and Marcus Crider added 13 to lead the Panthers to the win and eliminate Troy from consideration from the conference tournament.  The Panthers (20-9, 13-5) sprinted out to a 14 points halftime lead, outscoring Troy 38-25.  Georgia State shot 67 percent in the first half and 60 percent for the game, while Troy (10-18, 5-14) could only manage 9-24 in the first half.  The win, combined with losses by Georgia Southern and ULM, drew the Panthers into a three way tie.

APPALACHIAN STATE 64, UL MONROE 43---The biggest surprise of the day happened in Boone, as Appalachian State used an 18-2 run in the first half and ran away from UL Monroe, 66-43.  Frank Eaves had a big day for the Mountaineers (10-17, 7-11 Sun Belt), scoring 28 points on 9-14 shooting including 5-9 from three point range.  App St. led by 15 at the half and ULM (19-10, 13-5) suffered their biggest loss of the season as the Mountaineers defense held Tyler Ongwae and Majok Deng to a combined 6-22 from the field.  Appalachian State, who is not eligible for the conference tournament (APR issues) snapped a five game losing streak.

TEXAS STATE 70, ARKANSAS STATE 60---In San Marcos, Texas State jumped on Arkansas State early, jumping out to a 17-3 lead and rolled over Arkansas State 70-60 in a game featuring two teams trying to qualify for the conference tournament.  The Bobcats (13-14, 7-11 Sun Belt) led by eleven at the break and never led by fewer than eight points in the second half.  The Bobcats, who shot a conference season high of 48%, got 19 points from Kavin Gilder-Tilbury in the victory.  Anthony Livingston had another big game for the Red Wolves (11-16, 6-12) with 20 points and 12 rebounds.  The loss dropped Arkansas State a game behind Texas State and South Alabama in the fight for the final tournament spot.

UT ARLINGTON 82, ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK 73--Playing in his final home game, Lonnie McClanahan scored 18 points and dished out 12 assists to help UTA snap a two game losing streak.  The Mavericks (16-12, 10-8 Sun Belt) also got a big performance from Erick Neal, who didn't miss a shot in scoring 15 points.  UTA led by nine at the break and fought off a Trojans' rally in the second half.  The Mavericks shot 58% from the field in the game.  UALR (13-16, 8-11) was led by Roger Woods with 16 points, while James Reid, Josh Hagins and Mareik Isom each scored 14.  UALR is one half game ahead of South Alabama and Texas State  and 1 1/2 games in front of Arkansas State for the last spot in the conference tournament

 

 

More From 103.3 The GOAT