Red Wolves tame No. 15 Tigers in major men’s hoops upset

A-State earns biggest win against ranked opponent ever, 85-72

From Arkansas State University

astateredwolves.com

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Joseph Pinion carded a career-best performance to lead four double- figure scorers for the Arkansas State men's basketball team, which defeated No.

15 Memphis 85-72 Sunday inside FedExForum for its highest-ranked win in program history.

A-State (7-3) forced the Tigers (7-2) into a seasonhigh 20 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 44-40 with 16 offensive boards. The win marked the program's first at Memphis since March 18, 1991, and halted a sevengame skid in the series with UM, while the 13-point margin was the largest margin of victory over Memphis since 1947.

Pinion scored a career-high 22 points on five made 3-pointers, while also matching his career best with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Dyondre Dominguez tacked on a season-high 19 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench, while Taryn Todd and Kobe Julien chipped in 17 and 12, respectively. Julien and Rashaud Marshall led A-State on the glass with eight rebounds, including seven offensive boards from Julien.

The Red Wolves shot 36.6 percent (26-71) from the field, including 12-for-36 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range, while converting 21-of-27 (77.8 percent) at the freethrow line. Memphis shot 35.6 percent (21-59) and went 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from long range.

Tiger guard PJ Haggerty had a game-high 29 points, while Dain Dainja had 16 points and 12 boards, but A-State limited guard Tyrese Hunter to just four points and forced him into five turnovers.

The Red Wolves pounced on the Tigers early with a trey by Todd before a Haggerty three put the hosts up by one. Memphis would only lead for 38 seconds, because Pinion would knock down a three that sparked a 16-3 run to put A-State ahead 19-7.

Hunter cut the deficit to eight with a three with 9:46 left in the half, but Pinion capped a 5-0 stretch to put the Red Wolves back ahead by double digits, leading 27-14 with 7:47 on the clock. Dominguez scored three of his 14 firsthalf points at the 4:40 mark to give A-State its largest lead of the evening, up 36-18.

Memphis clawed back to within 13 before the half, but A-State took a 42-29 lead into the break – Memphis' largest halftime deficit faced at home this season. The Red Wolves limited the Tigers to just 7-of-25 shooting (28.0 percent) in the first 20 minutes, including 2-of-10 from the perimeter.

A-State's lead ballooned back to 18 on six straight Pinion points, but the hosts rallied back to within eight with a 10-0 run. A three by Colby Rogers (11 points) trimmed the margin down to seven with 11:01 to play, but the Tigers would claw back no further, as the Red Wolves countered to push their lead back out to double figures.

Rogers hit another trey with 3:10 to play before A-State answered with a 5-0 stretch which would conclude its scoring, while Nicholas Jourdain added a couple of late scores for the Tigers.

NEXT UP

Arkansas State returns home Thursday to face former Sun Belt Conference counterpart UT Arlington. Tip-off against the Mavericks is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+, while the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves

See ASU, page A10

Photo courtesy of ASU ASU

From page A7

Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.

The Tigers will be on the road playing at (RV) Clemson on Saturday, Dec. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT with coverage available on ESPN2.

SOCIAL MEDIA

For the latest on the A-State men's basketball program, follow @AStateMB on Twitter/ X and @astatemb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateMB.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.