STATE DIVISION I ROUNDUPS

SUN BELT MEN UALR 78, LA.-LAFAYETTE 76, OT

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock bounced back from a Friday defeat in Game 2 at Louisiana-Lafayette, topping the Ragin’ Cajuns in overtime at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.

UALR (7-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) clawed back from a 10-point halftime deficit on Ruot Monyyong’s sixth double-double of the season (19 points, 16 rebounds), 17 points from Isaiah Palermo and 15 points off the bench from Markquis Nowell.

Baskets by Palermo and Nowell gave the Trojans a 56-55 lead with 9:11 remaining in the game, and Nowell’s missed three-pointer sent the game to overtime at 68-68.

UALR pulled away with scoring from Nowell, Monyyong and Nikola Maric (12 points, and Kris Bankston’s steal sealed the victory.

The Ragin’ Cajuns had five scorers in double-figures, led by 17 points from Cedric Russell and Theo Akwuba.

UALR’s comeback came less than 24 hours after the Trojans fell in dramatic fashion when the lights inside of the Cajundome turned off during UALR’s possession of a two-point loss. The Sun Belt Conference released a statement Friday night acknowledging that “the last few seconds of the Little Rock at Louisiana men’s basketball game this evening were not managed properly by the officiating crew.”

SWAC MEN UAPB 91, ALABAMA ST. 82

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions (3-8, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) were strong down the stretch and held off visiting Alabama State (0-3, 0-3) at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.

The Golden Lions led 35-34 at halftime then slowly put away the Hornets in the final 20 minutes.

UAPB’s Shaun Doss Jr. was 12 of 17 from the field and led all scorers with 31 points. Teammate Joshuwan Johnson had 25 points, while Dequan Morris and Jalen Lynn added 13 and 10 points respectively for the Golden Lions who shot 59.3% from the field, including 64.3% in the second half. UAPB was 7 of 15 (46.7%) on three-pointers.

Kenny Strawbridge led Alabama State with 18 points.

SUN BELT WOMEN ARKANSAS STATE 70, TEXAS STATE 54

The Arkansas State women finished off a weekend sweep of Texas State at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

After Friday night’s one-point victory, the Red Wolves (7-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) opened a 48-29 halftime advantage on the Bobcats on Saturday. Texas State closed the deficit to 54-44 to end the third quarter before ASU put the game away in the final 10 minutes.

Peyton Martin led ASU with 18 points. She was joined in double figures by Jada Stinson (12 points), Jireh Washington (11) and Karolina Szydlowska (11).

Morgan Wallace’s 10 rebounds led both teams, as ASU held a 38-32 rebounding advantage.

ASU led 38-24 in points in the paint, 19-13 in points off turnovers and 18-12 in second-chance points.

Lauryn Thompson led Texas State with 15 points. Da’Nasia Hood added 12 for the Bobcats.

SWAC WOMEN ALABAMA STATE 87, UAPB 79

Alabama State opened its season Saturday with the eight-point victory at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.

The Hornets (1-0, 1-0 SWAC) led 60-57 heading into the fourth quarter, increased the lead to 79-66 with 2:17 remaining then held off the Golden Lions (2-6, 1-1).

Kaila Walker led UAPB with 20 points. Khadijah Brown had 19 and Jazeem Bethea came off the bench to score 10.

UAPB shot 30.7% from the field, including 17.4% (4 of 23) on three-pointers.

Alabama State, which led 24-14 after the first quarter thanks to 63.6% shooting from the field, was led by Ayana Emmanuel’s 29 points. Teammate Shmya Ward had 20 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while Jayla Crawford added 14 points.