ROSE HALL, St James — Utah State University will lead four teams seeking to get back-to-back wins as the third Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic NCAA Men’s Division One event continues at Montego Bay Convention Centre today.

Utah State will play North Texas in the third of four more games today, set to start at 6:30 pm. North Carolina A&T and Eastern Michigan, who both won on Friday, will meet in the opening game set for 12:00 pm. In another encounter, Louisiana State University (LSU), who were shocked by Utah State, will seek to rebound against Rhode Island at 2:00 pm, while the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Nicholls State will meet in the last game of the day.

Utah State, who came into the weekend ranked number 15 in the Associated Press polls, staged a gallant comeback on Friday night to beat powerhouses LSU by two points 80-78. They outscored the South Eastern Conference team 45-24 over the final 16 and half minutes of the game, overcoming a 19-point deficit to extend their winning start to six games.

It was LSU’s second loss in five games.

Eastern Michigan also extended their winning start to five games with their 62-45 win over UMBC. Rhode Island beat North Texas 60-47, while North Carolina A&T beat Nicholls State 66-54.

LSU were led by a career-high 30 points from Skylar Mays. He scored 21 in the second half and had five three pointers in his 10 field goals. They had looked well set for a win over the Mountain West contenders until Utah State started their comeback.

Utah State were led by Justin Bean, who had a double-double, and Sam Merill and Alphonso Anderson, who both came off the bench to score 24 points. They closed the gap to 57-62 with nine minutes 38 seconds to go.

After drawing level for the first time in the game with just over four minutes to go at 71-all, Bean gave Utah State their first lead at 76-74 with just over three minutes to go. And while Mays restored LSU’s lead at 78-77 with two minutes to go, Utah State had momentum behind them, setting up Merrill to hit a three deep from the right side to put them ahead for good with 45 seconds left in the game.

Bean had 14 points and 12 rebounds, as well as six assists for Utah State. Anderson had 24 points and six rebounds and Merrill had 24 point and eight assists, while Diogo Brito scored 12 points.

Darius Dayes and Emmitt Williams both scored 14 points for LSU in support of Mays.

In another game, Rhode Island Rams came from a three-point deficit at half-time to beat North Texas, taking their record on the season to 4-1, thanks to a game-high 22 points from Fatts Russell, 15 points from Tyrese Martin and 10 points from Jeff Dowtin.

Umoja Gibson scored 20 points for North Texas.

Today’s games

12:00 pm — North Carolina A&T vs Eastern Michigan

2:30 pm — LSU vs Rhode Island

6:30 pm — North Texas vs Utah State

9:00 pm — UMBC vs Nicholls State