Arkansas State comes up short against UAPB

Golden Lions hold off Red Wolves in clash between in- state basketball programs

A-State Sports JONESBORO — A 10point halftime deficit proved to be too much as Arkansas-Pine Bluff defeated the Arkansas State men’s basketball team 75-74 Wednesday at First National Bank Arena.

Norchad Omier posted his second-straight doubledouble with 21 points and 19 rebounds to lead A-State (1-4), the first freshman in program history to post a 20-point double-double effort. Christian Willis was a perfect 3-for-3 beyond the arc and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Caleb Fields and Marquis Eaton finished with 11 points each. Antwon Jackson had a career-high 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Shaun Doss Jr. led UAPB (1-5) with 20 points.

Turnovers hurt the Red Wolves in the first half as UAPB scored 24 points off 13 A-State miscues to lead by as many as 13 in the first 20 minutes. The Golden Lions shot 48 percent (15-31) in the opening frame, knocking down 8of-15 (53 percent) from 3point range, and scored 17 of their 41 points on the fast break.

A-State turned the ball over just four times in the second half, but was unable to take the lead. The Red Wolves trailed by six points until the final seven minutes, mounting a comeback to tie the game at 74 with nine seconds to play.

A-State struggled at the free throw line shooting 61 percent (17-28) for the game, 15-of-24 (63 percent) in the second half.

The Red Wolves split a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining, tying the score, but A-State was whistled for a foul with 0.9 seconds remaining and UAPB knocked down the first to set the final score.

The Red Wolves shot 43 percent (26-61) for the game, but hit 5-of-12 (61 percent) beyond the arc.

UAPB finished 42 percent (25-59) from the field, hitting 50 percent (10-20) from 3-point range. A-State finished with 17 turnovers resulting in 31 points for the Golden Lions, but the Red Wolves held a 48-27 advantage on the glass while outscoring UAPB 36-26 in the paint.

Arkansas State remains at home for its next outing with a Friday, Dec. 11 matchup against Central Baptist that is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and across the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and flagship station 107.9 KFIN.

For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).

Women’s Game Canceled

Thursday’s Arkansas State women’s basketball game at Arkansas-Pine Bluff was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns within the UAPB women’s basketball program.

The game was canceled after UAPB contacted AState, informing them on Wednesday that they would be unable to play the game. “I believe our team had better preparation time and they were excited to play,” head coach Matt Daniel said. “However, the health

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Photo courtesy of ASU

Photo courtesy of UAPB UAPB (cont.) and safety of both programs comes first and foremost, as it should. With

everything our team has been through, I am just glad anytime we get to compete. We need to not take that for granted.

Thankfully, we have a game on Friday versus Williams Baptist and four games over the next seven days, similar to a conference tournament format.

We do look forward to continuing our series with UAPB next year.”

Arkansas State returns to action Friday, Dec. 11 to open a doubleheader with the A-State men’s basketball squad, hosting Williams Baptist with tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.

CT. The broadcast can be watched live on ESPN+ while the radio broadcast can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket.

For the latest on the AState women’s basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, or also liking the team’s Facebook page.