JONESBORO, Ark.?Four Arkansas State players scored in double figures but still wasn't enough to stop the onslaught by Missouri State in the second half as the Bears overcame a 13 point deficit for a 97-80 win over the Indians on Saturday.
ASU (1-2) went up 13 with 18:47 left in the second half when guard Jim Jones nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to give ASU a 50-37 lead. Less than a minute later the score jumped back to 13 again, but that was where the wheels came off for the Indians.
The Bears (2-0) started their run at the 17:52 mark when Tyler Chaney laid the ball of the glass on a break to slice ASU's lead to 11 at 52-41. That would key a run where the Bears would go on a 9-0 run on the Indians.
A trio of 3's by MSU sliced ASU's lead to four, the last coming on a pull-up shot behind the arc on a controlled break. Jerry Nichols stopped the bleeding for the Indians momentarily when he connected on one of two free throw attempts
But ASU's transition defense was lax, and the Bears took advantage all during the second half. MSU took the lead from ASU at the 13:34 mark when Shane Laurie canned a pair of free throws, making the score 58-57 MSU. Less than one minute later the Bears took the lead for good when Kellen Easley scored on a floater in the lane to make the score 60-51.
Overall the Bears shot a blistering 67.9 percent from the floor in the second half while the Indians couldn't sustain any real offensive attack. Head coach Dickey Nutt wasn't impressed with his team's effort in the second half.
“I thought in the second half we probably played as poorly as we can possibly play,” said Nutt. “We've got a lot to do and it is a long season.”
“I told my guys we've got to find a happy medium. We came out in the last game against Mississippi State and played fairly well...maybe we got a little too big for our britches.”
The Indians started out hot in the first half, however. Isaac Wells and Marcus Ardison scored 12 and 11, respectively, in the half and keyed the Tribe to a 46-36 halftime lead. The Indians shot 54.8 percent in the half and limited the Bears to 48 percent.
Ardison paced ASU with 18 points on the night while Dereke Tipler scored 16, Jim Jones added 14 and Wells with 11. The Bears were paced by Blake Ahearn's 27 points, including a six 3's on the night. Easley added 18 and Dale Lamberth and Deke Thompson added 11 each.
