Saturday, January 30

WKU 76, New Orleans 56
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - Steffphon Pettigrew and A.J. Slaughter each scored 18 points to lead Western Kentucky to a 76-56 rout over New Orleans on Saturday.

The Hilltoppers (12-10, 5-5 Sun Belt Conference) snapped a five-game losing streak. The Privateers (7-15, 2-9), who finished with 25 turnovers, lost their fourth straight.

Western Kentucky shot 48.3 percent from the field (29-for-60), while New Orleans shot 44.4 percent (20-for-45). Both teams shot over 60 percent in the first half.

Freshmen Caden Dickerson scored 14 points and Jamaal Crook had 11 points. Jeremy Evans finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds as all Western starters scored in double figures.

Charles Carmouche was the only Privateer with more than six points, scoring a game-high 23 points. Carmouche went 8 of 14 from the floor, while the rest of the team went 12-for-31.

Louisiana-Lafayette 72, Louisiana-Monroe 67
MONROE, La. (AP) - Tyren Johnson scored 19 points for his 10th straight game in double figures and Louisiana-Lafayette rallied to beat Louisiana-Monroe 72-67 on Saturday.

Trailing 39-37 with 13:32 left, the Ragin' Cajuns (9-12, 6-4 Sun Belt Conference) twice went inside to Javan Mitchell, who was fouled both times and made four free throws to push Louisiana-Lafayette ahead 41-39 with 12:11 to go.

Mitchell banked in a shot to spark a 7-0 run that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 52-43 lead with 5:45 left. The Warhawks (9-14, 4-8) pulled within 54-49 with 4:25 left, but they could get no closer until the final minute.

The Ragin' Cajuns held Louisiana-Monroe to only five field goals in the first 18 minutes of the second half.

Raymone Andrews scored 17 points and made 11 of 14 free throws for Louisiana-Lafayette.

Dynile Forbes led the Warhawks with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting.

Florida Atlantic 106, FIU 88
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - It's a long way from Madison Square Garden to FAU Arena -- and a journey Isiah Thomas and Mike Jarvis had to take.

Linked by high-profile tenures in New York, Thomas with the Knicks and Jarvis at St. John's, the coaches eventually wound up at Florida International and Florida Atlantic, respectively, schools hurting for national recognition before either came along.

On Saturday, they matched wits for the first time, a star-crossed coaching matchup in the Sun Belt Conference. It was all FAU: Jarvis' Owls rolled to a 106-88 win.

Thomas walked off the floor briskly when it was over, taking a last look at the scoreboard and clapping his hands.

"Without a doubt, I think there's more attention being paid to our league," said Thomas, the Hall of Fame player who is in his first year at FIU. "We're recruiting better players in our league and we've got some really good coaches in our league. And when you have good coaches and good players, that raises the level of the league, the level of play and the attention that the league gets."

Jarvis is thrilled Thomas came to the Sun Belt. He even had the FIU coach autograph posters FAU made up for Saturday's game.

"It's like when I've coached against Mike Krzyzewski or Jim Calhoun or Jim Boeheim," Jarvis said. "Make no mistake about it, it's special."

Thomas would likely be thrilled to be mentioned in that sort of company.

His debut season often has been rough. The Golden Panthers are 7-17 overall and 4-7 in the conference -- though that's still more wins than many people expected FIU to manage this season.

"If we shoot the ball well, we're a pretty good basketball team," Thomas said.

Meanwhile, Jarvis hasn't needed much time to get the Owls flying right. After they went 6-26 last season and were picked to be near the bottom of the Sun Belt this winter, Jarvis has put together the biggest surprise in the conference.

Florida Atlantic (12-10, 8-3) is atop the Sun Belt's East Division and appears to have a legitimate chance of becoming the fourth school Jarvis has taken to the NCAA tournament, joining Boston University, George Washington and St. John's.

"What other people think about how we're supposed to be playing, how well we're supposed to be playing, is nothing that we can control," said Jarvis, who coached Patrick Ewing in high school and took St. John's within one game of the 1999 Final Four. "I'd like to hope we can get better."

Thomas entered the gym about 2 1/2 minutes before tip-off, booed by a packed FAU student section. He made it halfway across the court before cracking into a laugh.

All eyes on him, as always.

"Every time I walk into a basketball gym," Thomas said, "that's how it is."

The arrival of both coaches in South Florida was met by a certain amount of skepticism.

FAU first made a splashy coaching hire in 2005, bringing in Matt Doherty, who was looking to spark his career again after the former North Carolina star struggled mightily on the Tar Heels' sideline. Doherty lasted only one season and his replacement, Rex Walters, stayed for two years before leaving for a better offer at San Francisco.

Enter Jarvis, who loves Boca Raton, even though FAU hired Doherty over him five years ago.

After that run to the NCAA's Elite Eight in 1999, it was all downhill for Jarvis at St. John's. Players got in trouble on and off the court and the program eventually went on probation because a member of the staff made improper payments to a player. These days, at least at FAU, that's all forgotten.

And the league welcomed both Thomas and Jarvis with open arms. They're only two parts of the Sun Belt's recent basketball coaching windfall -- John Brady took LSU to a Final Four in 2006, then was off to Arkansas State two years later.

"These are guys coming from programs that know what type of athlete you've got to have to compete at the highest level," Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said. "And I don't think it's just an accident that both of those programs, FAU and FIU, are playing very well right now. ... Yes, they bring notoriety with them. Yes, they bring interest with them. But they bring an awareness with them as well."

Thomas, too, came to FIU toting plenty of questions.

His flameout with the Knicks was the stuff of tabloid lore. Fans chanted "Fire Isiah!" night after night at Madison Square Garden, he was the central figure in a sexual harassment lawsuit and then was found unconscious by rescue workers after taking sleeping pills at his home in the fall of 2008.

Barring a complete and immediate turnaround, FIU is on its way to a 10th straight losing season.

But like Jarvis, Thomas is loving the challenge. His team is getting better. A slew of recruits who wouldn't have given FIU a glance before he arrived last April are on their way to the Golden Panthers' locker room. Better days for both him and FIU are coming, he insists.

"Until I look up and see those Top 25 schools that they talk about and put on television all the time, I won't be satisfied until we're one of those programs," Thomas said.

Jarvis and Thomas agree, they can get there from here.

Middle Tennessee 69, North Texas 64
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - Montarrio Haddock scored 15 points and Middle Tennessee State defeated North Texas 69-64 on Saturday night.

Calvin O'Neil added 13 points, and Desmond Yates and Rod Emanuel each had 12 for the Blue Raiders (13-10, 8-3 Sun Belt Conference), who have won five games in a row.

The Blue Raiders never trailed and held their largest lead of the game at 22-10 with 8:21 remaining in the first half. But the Mean Green battled back to cut the lead to 35-31 at halftime.

The margin was eight points or less the rest of the way, and North Texas cut the lead to 66-64 with 1:37 to go on a 3-pointer by Shannon Shorter. The Blue Raiders iced the game with a dunk by Emanuel and a free throw by Haddock in the final minute.

Tristan Thompson had 17 points, Josh White added 13, and George Odufuwa had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Mean Green (13-8, 6-5).

Arkansas State 73, Denver 62
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Brandon Reed scored a career-high 34 points, including making four 3-pointers, to lead Arkansas State to a 73-62 victory over Denver on Saturday night.

The Red Wolves (13-8, 8-2 Sun Belt) have won six of their last seven games and remain at the top of their conference.

The two teams traded the lead nine times in the first 10 minutes, but the Red Wolves pulled ahead for good on a dunk by Brandon Peterson with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the half. They went on to lead by as many as 17 points near the end of the period.

The Red Wolves' Trey Finn finished with 11 points and six rebounds while Martavius Adams added eight points and pulled eight off the boards. Peterson finished with six points.

Brian Stafford led the Pioneers (13-9, 6-5) by scoring 19 points. Nate Rohnert added 11 and Justin Coughlin scored eight.

Troy 73, South Alabama 66
TROY, Ala. (AP) - Brandon Hazzard scored 17 points and Michael Vogler had 15 as Troy defeated South Alabama 73-66 in overtime on Saturday night.

Vogler and Yamene Coleman each scored six points in overtime for the Trojans (12-10, 7-4 Sun Belt Conference), who avenged a last-second 69-67 loss at South Alabama on Jan. 16.

Troy built a six-point lead, then went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 26 seconds to seal the win.

Coleman finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Trojans, who won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 2.

Tim Williams had a career-high 28 points and 12 rebounds for South Alabama (12-11, 4-7), which has lost four straight and seven of its last eight.

The Jaguars led 30-21 at halftime. With 2:12 to go, Williams hit two jumpers for a 57-54 South Alabama lead. Richard Delk tied it on a 3-point play with 1:51 left in regulation.