JONESBORO, Ark.?Dereke Tipler scored a career-high 20 points and Jim Jones chipped in 10 as Arkansas State utilized a big first half and cruised to a 85-56 against Missouri-Rolla Friday night.
Tipler, a senior point guard, shot 9-of-15 from the field for his 20 points and grabbed a game-high nine boards. Jones, playing in his first regular season game of his ASU career, added 15 points and five rebounds. But it was Tipler that sparked the Tribe in the season-opener.
“Dereke Tipler was really an outstanding player tonight as he was all over the place,” said head coach Dickey Nutt. “Twenty points and nine rebounds for the smallest player on the court. He makes our defense go and our team feeds off of his energy.”
The Indians (1-0) jumped out to a big lead quickly on the Miners (1-1). With just 6:12 off the clock in the first half, Lorenzo Hampton connected on a pair of free throws to give ASU a 16-6 lead, one that would not dip below 10 points the rest of the way.
Isaac Wells scored 10 points and grabbed seven boards before getting into foul trouble in the game. Freshman Brandon Ballard came off the bench to pump in 11 points after nailing 3-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc. But ASU's offense wasn't as crisp as Nutt would have liked.
“We are glad to be 1-0 on the year. Defensively we played pretty good and got after it but offensively,” said Nutt. “But I was a little disappointed in our (offensive) execution.”
The Indians followed a solid 47.4-percent from the field in the first half with a lackluster 36.8-percent in the second half. Fortunately for the Indians, the defense was prepared for an offensive slowdown.
The Miners hit just 34.5-percent from the field for the game and the Indians harassed the visitors into 23 turnovers. Tipler's five steals on the night, also a career-high, paced the ASU defense that had 13 steals on the night.
UMR's starting guards combined to shoot 0-for-12 from the field and scored a combined one point. Starting forwards Tyrone Davidson and Shea Wiemann scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the only Miner's to reach double figures in the game.
ASU next faces SEC foe Mississippi State on Monday, November 21, at Starkville, Miss. The Bulldogs face Chattanooga on Saturday in their season opener.
