SATURDAY’S STATE DIVISION I ROUNDUPS
SWAC MEN FLORIDA A&M 71, UAPB 66, OT
PINE BLUFF — M.J. Randolph helped stage a second-half comeback that allowed Florida A&M to steal a road victory at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.
The senior guard scored 18 of his 25 points after halftime for the Rattlers (4-11, 2-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who trailed by as many as nine points in the second half. The game was tied 63-63 at the end of regulation after Randolph’s layup with 1:41 showing capped a closing 11-2 spurt for the Rattlers. He then collected six points in the extra session as Florida A&M held the Golden Lions to three points in overtime.
D.J. Jones had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnny Brown scored 12 points for the Rattlers, who’ve won back-to-back games since losing their previous seven.
Brandon Brown finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for UAPB (3-15, 1-4), which was playing without its top two scorers in Shawn Williams and Kylen Milton. Brahm Harris scored 14 points, Kshun Stokes ended with 11 points and Dequan Morris chipped in with 10 points.
The game was tied at 35-35 with 15:33 to go in the second half before two free throws from Trey Sampson started a 10-0 run for UAPB. But Brown scored nine points during a 13-0 rally by the Rattlers, with his three-pointer at the 8:53 mark giving them a 48-45 lead.
The teams continued to go back and forth over the next five minutes until a three from Stokes began an 12-3 flurry for the Golden Lions, turning a 50-49 deficit into a 61-52 lead. Yet, Florida A&M answered again and eventually sent the game into overtime on Randolph’s basket.
SUN BELT WOMEN ARKANSAS STATE 81, COASTAL CAROLINA 60
The Red Wolves completed the weekend sweep, pulling away from the Chanticleers after halftime at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
Keya Patton finished with 19 points for the second time in as many games and added a career-best six steals as ASU (10-7, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) converted 24 takeaways into 28 points.
Jireh Washington was one of two other Red Wolves to reach double-figure points as she went 7 of 10 from the field for 17 points to go with seven assists. Saturday also marked the third straight game in which ASU has logged at least 80 points — it’s the first time the Red Wolves have done so in conference play since 2000.
Aja Blount was the only one to do real damage for Coastal Carolina (12-4, 2-2), scoring 23 points, but the Chanticleers shot just 23 of 59 from the field and 4 of 20 on three-pointers.
SWAC WOMEN UAPB 76, FLORIDA A&M 53
PINE BLUFF — Another stout effort inside from Maya Peat led to another big victory for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in Southwestern Athletic Conference play on Saturday at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
The sophomore forward scored 11 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for UAPB (7-8, 3-2), which pounded the interior to win for the third time in a row. Peat had scored in double figures and pulled down 21 rebounds in each of the previous two games.
She made 2 of 6 shots, but the 6-6 Arizona native controlled the paint by keeping the Rattlers off the glass and helping limit their second-chance opportunities. Peat also made 7 of 10 free throws.
Khadijah Brown had 14 points and five rebounds, while Zaay Green ended with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for UAPB, which closed the first quarter on an 18-0 run to eliminate an early 10-5 deficit. The Golden Lions led 40-22 at halftime and 61-33 at the end of three quarters. Sade Hudson also finished with 10 points and seven assists for UAPB.
Dylan Horton scored 22 points and Caylan Jones added 13 points for Florida A&M (2-13, 2-2), which shot 20 of 59 (33.9%) and gave up 44 points in the paint. UAPB hit 28 of 65 (43.1%) shots, had 22 assists and held a 41-17 edge in bench points.