The 2013 Sun Belt tournament finished its first round on Friday. While there were not a lot of big-name schools involved, it still made for a day of entertaining basketball, as each team dreams of being the one stealing that automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. Let’s recap the games.
Sun Belt Conference Tournament 2013 results and bracket: 1st round concludes Friday
Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Troy move on to the second round after dispatching of their opponents on Friday.
Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE
No. 6 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 74, No. 11 Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 60
ULM came into this game with a 4-23 record and played like it, allowing the Hilltoppers to shoot 58.3 percent from the field and sink 11 of 22 three-pointers. This game was never in real doubt -- Western Kentucky took a big 46-24 halftime lead and never looked back. They will take on South Alabama in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette Rajun' Cajuns 74, No. 9 North Texas Mean Green 55
Four ULL players finished with double-digit points, and Elfrid Payton led the way with 20. The Cajuns led nearly the entire time, and after a 33-29 halftime lead ripped off a 13-3 run to put it away for good. ULL will face Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
No. 10 Troy Trojans 81, No. 7 Florida Atlantic Owls 79 (OT)
The Trojans refused to be out of this game, even while the Owls out-shot them 52 percent to 46. A Greg Gantt layup with 1:11 left gave Troy the lead they needed, and they would not relinquish it for the rest of the game. Emil Jones led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds. Troy will play Arkansas State on Saturday.
You can check out the complete bracket here.
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