January 28, 2010

North Texas 84, WKU 83
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Eric Tramiel scored 25 points and made the game-winning basket with 8 seconds left in overtime to give North Texas an 84-83 victory Thursday night over Western Kentucky.

The Mean Green (13-7, 6-4 Sun Belt Conference) have won four of their last five games.

Steffphon Pettigrew made a contested 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second left in regulation for the Hilltoppers (11-10, 4-5) to force overtime.

Tristan Thompson added 20 points for North Texas and George Odufuwa had 15 points and 16 rebounds.

The game featured 16 ties and 15 lead changes.

The Hilltoppers shot 30-for-37 from the free throw line, while the Mean Green shot 16-for-23. From the field, North Texas shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) compared to Western Kentucky's 41.4 percent (24-for-58).

Pettigrew scored 23 points for the Hilltoppers, who have lost five straight. A.J. Slaughter had 18 points.

UALR 69, Denver 57
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Matt Mouzy scored 17 points and Derrick Bails added 15 to lead Arkansas-Little rock to a 69-57 victory against Denver on Thursday night.

Solomon Bozeman had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Trojans (6-15, 2-8 Sun Belt), who overcame a 14-1 deficit in the first half.

Brian Stafford had 18 points and made five 3-point shots for Denver (13-8, 6-4). The Pioneers, who entered the game with the second-best team field-goal percentage in the nation, went cold after their hot start, finishing 19 of 58 (32.8 percent) from the floor.

Denver led 25-24 at halftime, but Arkansas-Little Rock had a 14-point second-half cushion after Mouzy's fourth 3-pointer of the game.

Middle Tennessee 66, New Orleans 46
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Rod Emanuel and Montarrio Haddock scored 14 points each to help Middle Tennessee defeat New Orleans 66-46 on Thursday night.

The Blue Raiders (12-10, 7-3 Sun Belt Conference) led by just one after Quincy Diggs' layup with 2:16 pulled the Privateers within 25-24 with 2:16 left in the first half.

Montarrio Haddock had a tip-in with 1 second left in the first half to give Middle Tennessee a 32-24 halftime lead.

The Blue Raiders opened the second half with 13 straight points to lead 45-24 on James Washington's 3-pointer with 13:49 to play.

Middle Tennessee scored 26 points off 24 turnovers, and shot 50 percent in the second half (13 of 26).

James Washington added 11 points in the Blue Raiders' fourth-straight win.

Jaroslav Tyrna scored 13 points and Charles Carmouche added 12 for the Privateers (7-14, 2-8), who lost their third straight.

Troy 75, Louisiana-Monroe 56
TROY, Ala. -- Vernon Taylor scored 14 points as Troy rolled to a 75-56 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night.

The Trojans (11-10, 6-4 Sun Belt Conference) shot 57.9 percent from the 3-point line (11-for-19) to complete the season sweep of Louisiana-Monroe (9-13, 4-7).

Five Troy players hit at least two 3-pointers and Michael Vogler was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and the Trojans shot 52.7 percent from the field (29-for-55).

Antywan Jones hit a 3-pointer to give Troy a 51-31 lead with 17:20 to play, but Louisiana-Monroe cut the lead to 58-49 on Colby Carr's layup with 10:10 left.

The Trojans scored the next six points to push their advantage to 64-49 with 8:55 remaining.

Yamene Coleman and Vogler scored 13 each, and Richard Delk and Jones added 10 each for Troy. Coleman also had 10 rebounds.

Lawrence Gilbert scored 13 and Dynile Forbes had 11 for Louisiana-Monroe.

Florida Atlantic 70, South Alabama 59
MOBILE, Ala. -- Greg Gantt scored 21 points as Florida Atlantic used two big runs to defeat South Alabama 70-59 on Thursday night and win its fourth straight game.

The Owls (11-10, 7-3 Sun Belt Conference) trailed 16-6 early, then used a 17-3 spurt to lead by four. Florida Atlantic led 29-27 at the half and built 43-35 lead.

South Alabama (12-10, 4-6) pulled even at 50. Tied again at 53 with 5:09 remaining, Gantt hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 13-0 run.

Gantt has scored at least 20 points in five of the last seven games. Sanchez Hughley added 16 points for Florida Atlantic.

The Owls were 10-for-27 from beyond the arc and 25-for-63 (39.7 percent) from the field, compared to 19-for-58 (32.8 percent) shooting by the Jaguars, who have lost three straight.

Tim Williams led South Alabama with 14 points and Philip Tabet had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Arkansas State 62, Louisiana-Lafayette 60
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Brandon Reed scored 19 points to help Arkansas State fend off a late run by Louisiana-Lafayette and hang onto a 62-60 win on Thursday night.

The Red Wolves (12-8, 7-2 Sun Belt) were up by as many as 17 points in the first half and went into the break leading 36-25.

But the Ragin? Cajuns (8-12, 5-4) went on an 18-6 scoring run in the final nine minutes and pulled within two points on a layup by Lamar Roberson with seven seconds to go.

After the Red Wolves' Trey Finn was fouled and missed a free-throw attempt, the Ragin' Cajuns grabbed the rebound and Raymone Andrews tried for a 3-pointer at the buzzer but also missed.

Finn finished with 13 points, while Martavius Adams scored 9 and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Tyren Johnson scored 19 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns. Chris Gradnigo finished with 15 points and Travis Bureau with 11.