Sun Belt Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 4 Middle Tennessee State held No. 13 Louisiana-Monroe at bay, winning 74-69 despite watching a large second-half lead disintegrate to three points in the final minute. Sophomore forward Desmond Yates led the Blue Raiders with 22 points. The Blue Raiders will play No. 12 Troy in the quarterfinals after the Trojans upset No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette 70-60. Troy overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to win. Senior guards Jerome Odem and O’Darien Bassett each scored 16 points to lead the Trojans.
No. 6 North Texas shot better than 58 percent from the field and got 21 points from freshman guard Adam McCoy off the bench in an 85-63 rout. The Mean Green advance to play No. 3 Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals. No. 7 Florida Atlantic slammed No. 10 Florida International 91-64 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament to move into the quarterfinals against No. 2 Arkansas Little Rock. Junior guard Carderro Nwoji led the Owls with 20 points.
No. 8 New Orleans slipped past No. 9 Denver 65-60 as senior guard Bo McCalebb, one of the most prolific scorers in the nation at 23.4 points per game, led the Privateers with 20 points. New Orleans will play top-seeded South Alabama next. [3/05/08]
