Louisiana back dancing after winning Sun Belt

PENSACOLA, Fla.– Themus Fulks scored a career-high 23 points, Jordan Brown had 13 points and 16 rebounds and second-seeded Louisiana beat No. 8 seed South Alabama 71-66 on Monday night to declare the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship.Louisiana (26-7)secured

its 11th NCAA tournament berth and first considering that 2014. Louisiana’s very first lead of 2 points

or more featured 12:06 staying in the 2nd half on a putback by Terence Lewis II for a 49-46 advantage.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated After South Alabama went 1 of 2 from the totally free throw line

, Jalen Dalcourt made a jumper in the lane with 27.7 seconds left to extend Louisiana’s lead to 67-64. The Jaguars struggled all game from the stripe, going 17 of 28. Isaiah Moore made two free tosses with 17.1 seconds delegated get South Alabama

within 67-66, however Lewis addressed with 2 makes at the other end to regain a three-point advantage. South Alabama guard Owen White had a long 3-pointer rattle out in the closing seconds, and Kentrell Garnett sealed it with two totally free tosses at 1.4. Dalcourt completed with 13 points and Lewis added 12 points for the Ragin’Cajuns. Dalcourt and Fulks each made 3 of Louisiana’s eight 3-pointers. South Alabama(19-16 ), which knocked off No. 1 seed Southern Miss 78-61 on Saturday, was going for its first NCAA competition berth given that 2008. Moore scored a career-high 33 points for South Alabama. Kevin Samuel had 2 blocks in the very first half to set a South Alabama single-season record with 86. Samuel likewise scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.Moore, averaging 18.5 points per game, scored 13 of South Alabama’s opening 20 indicate help develop a six-point lead. The Jaguars led 37-33 at halftime behind 63%shooting and Moore’s 16 points.Information from The Associated Press was utilized in this report.