Associated Press

The regional hoops roundup …
ASHEVILLE — Nik Cochran scored 18 points on five 3-pointers, and Davidson won its 15th straight game, beating Georgia Southern 86-59 Saturday in the opening round of the Southern Conference tournament.
Cochran, who hadn’t cracked double figures in four straight games, including a five-point outing in the Wildcats’ 83-48 rout of Georgia Southern in both teams’ season finale, shot 5-of-7 from deep and dished out seven assists.
Tyler Kalinoski added 14 points, De’Mon Brooks 13, Jake Cohen 12, and Chris Czerapowicz 10 for the Wildcats (23-7), who ended the first half with 14 unanswered points to go into intermission ahead 45-22. Davidson, whose last loss came against Georgia Southern on Jan. 14, has led by double figures in 24 games this season.
The Wildcats, who shot a season-high 56 percent in their last win against the Eagles, matched that Saturday, hitting 28 of 50 shots.
Appalachian State 74, Furman 60
Nathan Healy and Jay Canty scored 13 points apiece to propel Appalachian State into the semifinals with a 74-60 victory.
Jamaal Trice had 12 points for the No. 4 seeded Mountaineers (15-15), who had a first-round bye. Canty, who had five rebounds and six assists, was 6-of-7 shooting.
Appalachian State shot 31 of 57 and 8 of 21 on 3-pointers.
Furman (7-24), which upset No. 5 seed Samford 55-51 in the first round, made 21 of 47, 10 fewer field goals than the Mountaineers.
Colin Reddick scored 15 points for Furman, Kendrec Ferrara had 12.
Appalachian State made a 13-0 run for a 17-8 lead, held a 26-11 advantage with 8:19 remaining on Chris Burgess’ 3-pointer and led 38-24 at halftime. Furman never got closer than seven in the second half.
Elon 68, UNC Greensboro 61

Sebastian Koch scored 15 points and Lucas Troutman posted a double-double as Elon defeated UNC Greensboro 68-61 in the quarterfinals.
Troutman had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Ryley Beaumont scored 12 and Jack Isenbarger 11 for the second-seeded Phoenix (21-10), who had won five of seven coming in, including an 80-66 victory over 10th-seeded UNCG in the regular-season finale.
Trevis Simpson scored 16 points for the Spartans (9-22).
CONFERENCE USA

GREENVILLE — Miguel Paul scored 22 points and handed out 10 assists as East Carolina defeated Marshall 86-79 Saturday night in their final game before next week’s Conference USA tournament.
Maurice Kemp added 21 points for the Pirates (18-11, 9-7), who posted a winning conference record for the first time since joining in the 2001-02 season.
East Carolina will have a bye into the tournament quarterfinals Thursday.
The Thundering Herd (13-18, 6-10), who defeated the Pirates 77-56 in their regular-season meeting, will play a first-round game Wednesday.
Paul’s two free throws gave East Carolina an 84-79 lead with 12 seconds left. The Pirates made 27 of 33 free throws in the second half to Marshall’s 10 of 12.
BIG SOUTH

CONWAY, S.C.— John Caleb Sanders scored 19 points and Liberty held Gardner-Webb scoreless for the final 3:21 for a 65-62 win in the Big South Conference semifinals Saturday.
The Flames (14-20), the South Division’s fifth seed, will play division champion Charleston Southern in the final Sunday. They’re in their first final since 2004 after beating host Coastal Carolina, North Division champion High Point and the Running Bulldogs (21-12).
Charleston Southern 71, VMI 67

CONWAY, S.C.— Arlon Harper scored a career-high 33 points to pace Charleston Southern over Virginia Military Institute.
Harper, who also had a career-best nine rebounds for the Buccaneers (19-11), secured the victory with four free throws in the final 22 seconds.