Middle Tennessee 80, South Alabama 68
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - James Washington scored 18 points and Middle Tennessee defeated South Alabama 80-68 on Saturday.

The Blue Raiders (14-11, 9-4 Sun Belt Conference), who trailed 63-61 with 7:25 to go, scored 10 straight, including two 3-pointers off two Jaguars' turnovers. Calvin O'Neil's free throw put Middle Tennessee up 71-63 with 3:56 remaining, and it would lead by no less than six points the rest of the way.

The Blue Raiders scored 23 points off 15 South Alabama (13-12, 5-8) turnovers, and won for the sixth time in seven games.

Washington was 4 of 9 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the free throw line for the Blue Raiders.

Desmond Yates scored 16 points, Montarrio Haddock 13 and James Gallman 11 for Middle Tennessee.

Tim Williams paced the Jaguars with 16 points. Bryan Sherrer added 14, Gary Redus 13 and Martino Brock 12 for South Alabama.

Denver 73, Florida Atlantic 63
DENVER –(AP)- Nate Rohnert scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Denver defeated Florida Atlantic 73-63 on Saturday.

Rohnert was 7-for-10 from the field and made 10 of 13 shots from the line for the Pioneers (14-9, 7-5 Sun Belt).

Denver was up 37-29 at halftime, but the Owls (12-12, 8-5) cut the lead to just six points with about two minutes left.

Rohnert then went on a 6-0 run to put the game away. Chase Hallam added 11 points for Denver.

Raymond Taylor led the Owls by scoring 20 points while Alex Tucker added 13 points and Brett Royster had 11.

The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Owls.

North Texas 68, FIU 66
MIAMI -(AP)- Tristan Thompson scored 19 points and North Texas defeated Florida International 68-66 on Saturday.

The Golden Panthers trailed 67-66 and had an opportunity to take the lead with 22 seconds remaining. But Phil Gary missed on a 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left.

George Odufawa was fouled after he rebounded Gary's missed shot and converted one of two free throws.

North Texas (15-8, 8-5 Sun Belt Conference) overcame a six-point deficit and scored 11 unanswered points during a 3:14 span late in the second half. Thompson's 3-pointer ended the run with 1:14 left, giving the Mean Green a 67-63 lead.

The victory avenged North Texas' 80-70 home loss against Florida International December 20.

Marvin Roberts scored 16 points for the Golden Panthers (7-19, 4-9).

WKU 87, Troy 69
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Steffphon Pettigrew scored 25 points to lead Western Kentucky to an 87-69 win over Troy on Saturday night.

The Hilltoppers (13-11, 6-6 Sun Belt Conference) never trailed and led by as many as 25 in the second half.

They went on a 16-4 run in the first half to lead 36-19 and led 43-38 at halftime. Pettigrew had 15 points in the first half.

A.J. Slaughter added 17 points for the Hilltoppers, and Sergio Kerusch and Caden Dickerson each had 15.

Western Kentucky made 12 of 26 shots from 3-point range, while Troy (13-11, 8-5) was just 3-for-18.

The Hilltoppers made 17 of 23 free throws, compared to just 4 of 7 for Troy. The Hilltoppers had 19 assists to nine for Troy.

Pettigrew and Jeremy Evans each had seven rebounds as the Hilltoppers outrebounded the Trojans 37-26.

Antywan Jones led the Trojans with 20 points while Brandon Hazzard had 16.

Louisiana-Lafayette 77, UALR 51
LAFAYETTE, La. - Tyren Johnson notched a double-double, scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 boards, to lead Louisiana-Lafayette in a 77-51 rout of Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday night.

Randell Daigle added 15 points and Chris Gradnigo chipped in with 11 for the Ragin' Cajuns (11-12, 8-4 Sun Belt Conference), who snapped a six-game losing streak to the Trojans.The Ragin' Cajuns have won a season-high three straight games.Daigle knocked down three 3-pointers, Johnson added two more and Travis Bureau hit another for the Ragin' Cajuns, who finished 6-for-17 from long range (35.3 percent).

The Trojans were 0-for-13 from beyond the arc.Daigle and Johnson hit back to back 3s to open the game, Johnson put the Ragin' Cajuns up 10-4 on a jumper and they never trailed in this one.The Trojans (7-16, 3-9) didn't have a player in double figures.

Arkansas State 66 New Orleans 52
NEW ORLEANS -(AP)- Brandon Peterson scored 16 points and Martavius Adams had 13 points and 13 rebounds as Arkansas State defeated New Orleans 66-52 on Saturday night to retain first place in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division.

The Red Wolves (14-9, 9-3) used a 13-3 run over the final 4:23 to pull away from the Privateers (7-17, 2-11).

That run coincided with Arkansas State taking better care of the ball. The Red Wolves turned it over 13 times in the first 13:40 of the second half, as the Privateers stayed close despite shooting 22.2 percent (6-for-27) in the half to Arkansas State's 61.1 percent (11-for-18).

The Red Wolves had no turnovers in the final 6:20.

Neither team led by more than three points in the first half until Arkansas State used an 8-0 run to lead 28-21 with 2:55 left.

Carl Blair, with 23 points, was the only New Orleans scorer in double figures.