Arkansas State ousts top-seed South Alabama 74-71 in Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Joseph Pinion scored 23 points to lead Arkansas State to a 74-71 victory over top-seeded South Alabama on Sunday night in a Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal.

The fourth-seeded Red Wolves (24-9) will play the winner of Sunday's other semifinal between No. 2 seed James Madison and third-seeded Troy in the title game on Monday. The champion earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. It took a four-way tiebreaker to decide the top four seeds after all four schools finished 13-5 in the conference.

Pinion also had six rebounds and five assists for the Red Wolves. Kobe Julien totaled 14 points, five rebounds and four steals. Terrance Ford Jr. scored 11.

The Jaguars (21-11) were led by Barry Dunning Jr. with 27 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Elijah Ormiston added 21 points and nine rebounds. Myles Corey scored 12.

Julien's layup with 8:28 left in the second half gave Arkansas State the lead for good at 55-53.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.