Texas St. tops South Alabama, advances to Sun Belt semifinals
Two weeks after South Alabama cost Texas State a shot at the Sun Belt Conference regular season title, the Bobcats exacted a measure of revenge.
No. 4 seed Texas State knocked off No. 8 South Alabama 79-67 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament on Friday at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Texas State moves on to play No. 1 seed Georgia State in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Tre’ Nottingham scored 19 points to lead four Bobcats players in double figures. Alex Peacock posted 17 points with nine rebounds, while Nijal Pearson scored 12 points with six rebounds and Jaylen Shead netted 11 points with seven assists.
Texas State (24-9, 13-6 Sun Belt) held a 37-23 rebounding advantage and forced 20 turnovers to help offset 52.4 percent 3-point shooting for South Alabama (17-17, 9-11).
The Bobcats had a one-game lead in the Sun Belt standings when they traveled to face the Panthers on March 2. A 77-63 loss, coupled with Texas State’s loss to UT Arlington on March 9, dropped the Bobcats to the Sun Belt’s No. 4 seed.
KANSAS 88, WEST VIRGINIA 74
Dedric Lawson poured in 24 points, Quentin Grimes added 18 before leaving late with cramps and No. 17 Kansas roared away from West Virginia in the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
Devon Dotson added 13 points and Marcus Garrett had 11 for the third-seeded and reigning champion Jayhawks (25-8). They advanced to play No. 5 seed Iowa State for the title Saturday night.
Kansas has advanced to the championship game three of the past four years.
The 10th-seeded Mountaineers (14-20) led much of the first half and hung tough early in the second, but three games in three days finally caught up to them.
IOWA STATE 63, KANSAS STATE 59
Marial Shayok had watched shot after shot hit everything but net Friday night, and Iowa State’s leading scorer and veteran leader could very well have grown hesitant and frustrated.
Instead, he hit the two biggest shots of the game.
Shayok rattled in a tying 3pointer down the stretch, swished another from right in front of his own bench, then added a couple of free throws in the closing seconds to help the fifthseeded Cyclones beat No. 15 Kansas State 63-59 in the Big 12 semifinals.
“I had all the confidence in the world,” Shayok said, “despite missing a bunch of shots in the second half. I just kept my confidence. This team has my back and the coaches have my back.”
Shayok finished with 21 points, and Nick Weiler-Babb added 12 and Iowa State (22-11)