Allsmiller, Brown combine for 52, Ga. Southern beats Troy

STATESBORO, Ga. -- Jake Allsmiller and Tookie Brown lived beyond the arc on Saturday, making 13 of 16 attempts to total 52 points as Georgia Southern beat Troy 89-83 to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Georgia Southern (20-11, 11-7) earned a first-round bye in the tourney which begins on Wednesday in New Orleans.

Allsmiller, who drained 8 of 11 from distance to finish with 24 points, and Brown, who was a perfect 5 of 5 from beyond the arc for 28 points, scored 34 of Georgia Southern's 49 second-half points. The Eagles nailed 15 of 24 from long range. Brown also dished out eight assists while grabbing six rebounds.

Georgia Southern led 40-33 at the break and was up 77-69 with 2:59 left. Wesley Person drained consecutive treys to close to 78-75 before Brown hit two from deep. He made three straight free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

Jordon Varnado had 27 points to lead Troy (15-16, 9-9). Alex Hicks added 14 with 15 rebounds.