TRIBE CRUISES TO EXHIBITION WIN OVER RHODES COLLEGE (11-7-05)
JONESBORO, Ark.?Dereke Tipler paced five Indians in double figures as Arkansas State defeated Rhodes College, 92-73, in men's basketball exhibition action here Monday night.
Tipler pumped in 18 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists on the night in 25 minutes of work. Kitus Witherspoon came off the bench to score 15 on 6-of-6 shooting and pulled down a game-high eight boards in just 18 minutes of play.
Rhodes College came out fired up to start the game as they utilized outside shooting to build a quick 15-10 lead before the Indians regrouped. Keyed by five points by Witherspoon and four by Tipler, ASU pushed into the lead for good at the 11:24 mark in the first half.
The lead swelled to 12 points with 7:17 left when Isaac Wells dunked on a feed from Tipler. Joe Thompson connected on a deep 3-pointer for the Lynx to temporarily cut the deficit to nine, but then the Indians took off.
Witherspoon gathered in a missed shot attempt by Yual Banks and stuck it back in to push ASU's lead back to 11 at 31-20. Including that bucket, ASU would end the half on a 23-4 run to blow open the game.
Jerry Nichols added 12 points for the Tribe on a night where nine players logged at least 10 minutes of game action. Wells added 12 in his debut at seeing time at the three-guard position and Jim Jones had a strong debut by hitting on 4-of-7 from the field for 10 points, three assists and four boards.
Thompson utilized six 3's on the night to score a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The rest of the Lynx didn't fare as well, connecting on just 16-45 shot attempts. But Thompson's shooting exhibition drew gasps from the crowd as the senior hit several from 25-feet.
As expected, ASU ruled the boards, 42-33, while trying out several different combinations of players. ASU's final exhibition game will be against Lyon College on November 16 at 8:05 p.m.
