Arkansas State beats UL Monroe 75-64 in Sun Belt opener

Dec 30, 2018, 03:56 am

JONESBORO, Ark. -- Grantham Gillard scored 19 points, Tamas Bruce had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Arkansas State beat Louisiana-Monroe 75-64 on Friday night in a Sun Belt Conference opener.

Deven Simms hit a 3-pointer to spark a 13-3 run and Arkansas State led 63-52 with four minutes left. Connor Kern and Ty Cockfield each made a 3 during the stretch. Travis Munnings scored seven straight points to pull the Warhawks to 71-64 with 49 seconds remaining. Cockfield and Simms each made two free throws to seal it.

Gillard was 6 of 11 from the field and made four 3-pointers, and Bruce collected his first double-double of the season. Simms had 17 points and Cockfield finished with 15 for Arkansas State (6-8), which has won three of its last four games.

Munnings scored 22 points to lead UL Monroe (6-6).