STATE DIVISION I ROUNDUPS

SUN BELT MEN

TROY 67, ARKANSAS STATE 62

Troy turned around a 44-34 deficit in the final 13-plus minutes and escaped Arkansas State and First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro with a come-frombehind win.

Terrance Ford Jr., who finished with 13 points, had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds for the Red Wolves. But his three-point attempt with five seconds to play was no good, allowing the Trojans to collect the rebound and ice the game with two free throws by Nelson Phillips The Troy guard led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 7 of 11 from the field and making two three-pointers.

Omar El-Sheikh led ASU (10-18, 2-13 Sun Belt Conference) with 16 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds. Markise Davis added 15 points, while the Red Wolves turned 15 Trojan turnovers into 21 points.

Troy (17-11, 9-6) led for just 14:05 minutes but shot 45% from the field.

ASUN MEN

EASTERN KENTUCKY 74, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 58

The University of Central Arkansas was not able to overcome 23 turnovers as it fell to Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky.

Eastern Kentucky (18-10, 11-4 ASUN) turned those turnovers into 23 points, had14 steals and never trailed.

UCA (9-19, 4-11) was led by Eddy Kayouloud’s 14 points and Collin Cooper’s 11. UCA’s leading scorer, Camren Hunter, was limited to nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.

UCA hit 4 of 23 three-point attempts (17.4%), while Eastern Kentucky shot 3 of 25 (12.0%).

Isaiah Cozart led the Colonels with 16 points to go with 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Cooper Robb (14), Michael Moreno (13), Devontae Blanton (11) and John Ukomadu (1o) all scored 10 or more points as well.

Of Eastern Kentucky’s 74 points, 44 came in the paint, 22 from second-chance opportunities and 17 on fast breaks.

SUN BELT WOMEN

ARKANSAS STATE 78, SOUTH ALABAMA 58

Behind 24 points from sophomore Izzy Higginbottom and the first career double-double from classmate Kiayra Ellis, Arkansas State powered past South Alabama at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

The Red Wolves finished the first half on a 7-0 run, leading 39-30 at the break, and the Jaguars never got closer than eight points in the second half. ASU (9-17, 4-11 Sun Belt Conference) held South Alabama (6-20, 2-13) to 33.8% shooting while converting 17 Jaguar turnovers into 22 points.

Ellis ended with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Leilani Augmon and Lauryn Pendleton adding 14 and 12 points, respectively, helping the Red Wolves finish their season sweep of South Alabama.

ASUN WOMEN

BELLARMINE 62, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 35

The University of Central Arkansas was held to 10 points in the first half at Louisville, Ky. to drop into a three-way tie for last place in the ASUN standings.

The Sugar Bears (8-16, 3-10 ASUN) were without their leading scorer in conference play, guard Randrea Wright, and it showed as they made 4 of 23 first-half shots. In the same span, Bellarmine (819, 4-10) made 18 of 35 shots to take a 38-10 lead into halftime.

UCA outscored Bellarmine 25-24 in the second half, making 10 of 30 shots. UCA shot 26.4% from the field to Bellarmine’s 45.2%.

The Knights held a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint, 18-5 in second chance points and 15-0 in bench points.

Kinley Fisher led UCA in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Siera Carter scored nine points on a gamehigh 17 attempts.

Bellarmine was led by 6-6 forward Gracie Merkle, who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Sheniqua Coatney also had 10 points and 13 rebounds.