Exciting Festivities Planned for ASU Fans at SBC Basketball Tournament in Hot Springs

Men's Basketball 3/7/2010 11:01:00 AM ArkansasState

Red Wolves Advance In Sun Belt Tournament, Face Western Kentucky In Quarterfinals

Game 31 - SBC Quarterfinal Round - Western Kentucky Notes

Red Wolves Advance In Sun Belt Tournament, Face Western Kentucky In Quarterfinals

Setting the scene
Date: March 7, 2010
Location: Hot Springs, Ark.
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. (CST)
Arena: Summit Arena
Arena Capacity: 6,000
Webcast: SunBeltSports.org

TIPPING IT OFF
With their opening round win over instate rival UALR, the Arkansas State Red Wolves get a third crack at No. 4-seeded Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers beat UNO to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Tournament and a matchup with ASU. Tipoff at the Summit Center is set for 6:30 p.m.

THE OPPONENT
Four of Western Kentucky's five starters are averaging in double-digit scoring which has helped the Hilltoppers to a 20-12 overall record. Western has won seven in a row including taking two from the Red Wolves during that stretch. The fourth-seeded Hilltoppers are led by SBC All-Conference selection AJ Slaughter who is averaging 17.6 points per game and leads the team with 140 assists and 53 steals. Sergio Kerusch, who spent part of the season sidelined by an injury ranks second on the team for the Hilltoppers with a 15.0 ppg scoring average and leads the team averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. Steffphon Pettigrew is also averaging 15.0 points per game while rebounding 6.0 per game. Jeremy Evans is averaging 10.3 points per game while leading WKU with 222 total rebounds and pulling down 6.9 per game. Ken McDonald is in his second season at the helm of the Hilltoppers' program owning a 47-21 overall record.

SERIES VERSUS WESTERN KENTUCKY
ASU trails the all-time series 11-27 in the two teams series which goes back to the 1947-48 season. ASU's last win in the series was during the 2006-07 season when the Red Wolves beat the Hilltoppers 76-75 at the Convocation Center then beat WKU 80-73 in the conference tournament in Lafayette, La. ASU is 2-0 against the Hilltoppers in postseason play. ASU dropped both meetings between the two squads earlier this season, but battled WKU to a 76-78 overtime loss at the Convocation Center on Feb. 20.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS - REED FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - BRADY COACH OF THE YEAR
Arkansas State's Brandon Reed was named Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-Sun Belt selection, while ASU head coach John Brady was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year announced by the league Tuesday. Reed leads the Red Wolves with 452 points, averaging 15.1 points per game, which makes him Arkansas State's top scoring freshman in school history. Reed has led ASU in scoring a team-high 13 times including scoring 30-points twice this season, which is more than any other player in the league. Reed's 15.0 points per game ranks seventh in the league in all-games and his 16.8 points per game in league play ranks fifth. Reed recorded a career-high 34 points against Denver, which are the second-most points scored in a SBC game this season.
          Brady, in his second year at the helm of the ASU program, helped lead the Red Wolves to an 11-7 conference mark this season, which is the best league mark since the 2006-07 season. Their 11 wins this season is only the seventh time since ASU joined the league that they have posted double-digit wins in a single season. This marks the third time in his career that Brady has been named a conference coach of the year. He earned similar awards twice during his time as head coach at LSU. Brady captured his 300th career win when ASU downed Central Baptist this season. This season the Red Wolves rank fifth in scoring offense and rank fourth in team defense in the league. The Red Wolves lead the SBC in rebounding and in field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just over 40 percent.

TOURNAMENT RECORD
In their opening round matchup with UALR, ASU shot 58 free thorws (43-58) while the Trojans shot 36 (23-36) for a combined 94 trips to the charity stripe. The 94 free throws is a Sun Belt Tournament record.

FOUR SCORE IN DOUBLE-DIGITS IN OPENING ROUND
ASU had four players score in double-digits against UALR in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament. Junior guard Rashad Allison led the team with a career-high 20 points. Reed was second on the team with 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds, Brandon Peterson recorded his second double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Trey Finn added 12 points.

PETERSON DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Freshman forward Brandon Peterson recorded his second double-double of the year against UALR in opening round action at the SBC Tournament. Peterson had 16 points and 11 rebounds while also recording two blocks. Other than Adams, Peterson is the only other ASU player to record multiple double-doubles this season.

ALLISON AT THE LINE
Junior guard Rashad Allison has been one of the best free throw shooters for Arkansas State this season, but he was automatic versus UALR in opening round action connecting on 13-13 from the line. Allison owns a team-best 80.6% average from the charity stripe this season.

VERSUS TOURNAMENT FIELD
With their win over UALR, ASU is 2-2 all-time against Arkansas-Little Rock in Sun Belt Tournament action. Against second-round opponent the Red Wolves are 2-0 against WKU in tournament play. If ASU advances to the third round ASU is 0-1 against Troy and 1-1 against South Alabama. Against the rest of the field, ASU is 1-2 against Denver, 0-1 against MTSU and 1-2 against N. Texas. ASU has not played ULM in postseason action.

CONFERENCE RECORD
With its 11-7 SBC record this season ASU has recorded its best league mark since the 2006-07 season when ASU achieved the same record. Its 11-wins was the seventh-time since ASU joined the Sun Belt that they have posted double-digit league wins.

HOME GROWN TALENT
Freshman guards Trey Finn and Adam Sterrenberg and junior forward Jeremy Thomas will get the opportunity to play in front of home-state crowds as the Red Wolves head to Hot Springs for the Sun Belt Tournament. Finn hails from Little Rock, Ark., Sterrenberg from Cabot, Ark. and Thomas is from Jonesboro.

LAST TIME VERSUS WKU
Reed had 30 points to lead all players on the floor connecting on 8-15 including 5-9 from three point range and was 9-11 from the charity stripe, as ASU had its first overtime game of the season in front of a season-high crowd at the Convocation Center. ASU gave WKU all they wanted but ultimately fell to the Hilltoppers 76-78 after AJ Slaughter hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute of overtime action. Martavius Adams and Rashad Allison each added 12 points for the Red Wolves. Adams led ASU with eight rebounds.

ADAMS WRAPS UP WITH A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore forward/center Martavius Adams completed regular season action posting fourth double-double of the season against Troy in the final weekend of action. Adams is the only player on ASU's roster to have more than one double-double having recorded four during the season. Adams posted 18 points -tying a career high and 14 rebounds against the Trojans.

BRYANT 18 IN 18
ASU sophomore guard Daniel Bryant posted 18 points in 18 minutes coming off the bench for the Red Wolves against Troy. It marked the 10th time this season that Bryant has posted doube-digits in the scoring column and was the most points he has scored since putting up 23 against Ole Miss earlier this season.

REED - TOP FRESHMAN SCORER IN SCHOOL HISTORY
With his 18 point performance over New Orleans, freshman guard Brandon Reed has overtaken Jerry Rook as Arkansas State's top scoring freshman in school history. Reed has 452 points this season shattering the 48-year standing record of 416 set by Rook during the 1961-62 season. .

SECOND HALF EXPLOSION
ASU trailed in its game at home against New Orleans but shot a blistering 75% from the field on 15-20 shooting and outscored UNO 40-27 in the second frame. Sophomore forward Martavius Adams was held scoreless in the first half against the Privateers, but led all players posting 13 second-half points.

YOUNG PACK
With Arkansas State starting three freshman, a sophomore and a junior college transfer and some of the first reserves coming off the bench being a freshman and sophomore, ASU is one of the youngest teams in the NCAA. In fact, ASU is the third least experienced team in the nation according to KenPom.com.

RECORD WATCH
Freshman forward Brandon Peterson had two blocks in opening round action against UALR, which pushed his season total to 59 and moved him into a tie with Freedy Hicks for fifth on the single-season block chart. One more block for Peterson and he takes over the No. 5 mark. He needs four more to move into a tie with Hicks at the No. 4 mark and six to move into a tie with Hicks at the No. 3 mark. Jason Jennings set the single-season block record during the 2000-01 season with 102 swats.

PULLING IT DOWN
Sophomore forward Martavius Adams continues to be one of the most dominant big men in the league, which he showcased at ULL on Thursday recording a career-high 16 rebounds and leading the team with nine points. Adams leads the team on the season with 190 rebounds and ranks second with 290 points. Adams ranks fifth in the league averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.

SEASON HIGH CROWD
ASU had a season-high crowd of 6,059 fans in attendance at their game versus WKU at the Convo last Saturday. The game was the first overtime contest of the season for ASU.

REED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brandon Reed was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after his performance against Denver and ULL last week. Reed scored a career-high 34 points in ASU's win over Denver Saturday night. Reed, who scored at least 20 points in a game for the fourth time this season against Denver, was responsible for the most points by an ASU player since Tevoris Thompson dropped in 41 against Lyon College on Dec. 7, 2002. Against Denver, Reed was 12-23 connecting on 52-percent of his shots from field, was 4-9 from three-point range and 6-7 from the charity stripe. Earlier in the week, Reed led ASU with 19 points past Louisiana-Lafayette. Reed has led ASU in scoring a team-high nine times this season, including breaking double-digits on 16 occasions. Over the two-game stretch Reed led ASU averaging 26.5 points per game and 3.0 rebounds per game and broke the 300-point barrier against Denver.

DEFENDING THE HOME FLOOR
ASU is 10-5 at home this season and 7-2 in conference games at the Convocation Center. The Red Wolves have always had a strong history of defending their home floor. Over the 22 years that ASU has competed in the ASU Convocation Center, the Red Wolves have compiled a 223-87 record (.720). Arkansas State has gone undefeated twice during a single season at the Convocation Center; they were a perfect 14-0 in 1988-89 and went 13-0 in 1990-91.

ALLISON DEALING THE ROCK
ASU junior Rashad Allison has an assist/turnover ratio of 1.8 in all games this season ranking fifth in the SBC. In conference only games Allison has a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio, ranking sixth. Allison also ranks fifth in the conference and leads ASU with 119 assists. Allison recorded 11 assists versus ULM tying his career high.

SEASON SWEEP
With their 83-70 win at North Texas, the Red Wolves swept the single-season series from North Texas for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

ALLISON BUZZER BEATER BESTS MTSU
Junior Rashad Allison hit four free-throws in the final 42-seconds of action against Middle Tennessee and hit the game winning shot on a jumper in the paint with 0.7 seconds on the clock to give ASU the 69-67 advantage. Allison led the team in scoring with 15 points on the night.

ALL SCORED
ASU had eight players play against MTSU with all eight of them getting in the scoring column, Allison led the team in scoring with 15 while Reed and Peterson had 13, Adams had nine, Finn had eight, Thomas had six, Sterrenberg had four and Butler sank a free throw.

PETERSON HAS CAREER GAME AT LAMAR
Freshman Brandon Peterson had his best game in an ASU uniform at Lamar scoring 21 points in his second start for the Red Wolves. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Peterson is averaging 7.1 ppg and 4.9 rebounds per game this season. Peterson ranks second in the league in blocks per game averaging 2.2 per contest.

ADAMS=EFFICIENT
Sophomore forward Martavius Adams has been extremely efficient for ASU this season ranking fifth in the league in field goal percentage and leading ASU with a .579 mark. Adams scored 12 points in just 12 minutes of action against Central Baptist and was perfect from the floor at MVSU going 6-6. Adams has scored in double-digits 11 times this season.

STRONG DEFENSE AT DENVER
ASU held the hot-shooting Denver Pioneers to shooting just 21.4-percent from the three-point arc in their last contest and held the Pioneers scoreless from three in the second half. Denver was averaging 43.6-percent from three entering the contest.

FINN DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Freshman guard Trey Finn was the fourth player to record a double-double when he scored 13 points and led ASU on the boards with 13 rebounds. Finn is one of the most versatile players on ASU's roster, averaging 7.5 ppg and leading the team in rebounding (7.2) and steals (21).

SIX IN DOUBLE-DIGITS PAST CBC
ASU had six players record double-digit scoring performances against Central Baptist College with freshman Brandon Reed leading the way scoring 14. Brandon Peterson, Trey Finn and Jeremy Thomas had 13 each while Martavius Adams and Adam Sterrenberg had 12.

THOMAS SHOWS UP BIG
Over the last two games junior reserve forward Jeremy Thomas has shown up for the Red Wolves. Against MVSU Thomas recorded a season-high 10 points against all of which were dunks. Thomas then scored another season high in points with 13 against Central Baptist.

BRADY WINS 300th GAME
ASU head coach John Brady picked up his 300th career win when the Red Wolves downed Central Baptist, 98-60 Tuesday at the Convocation Center. Brady currently owns a 300-238 (.558) career mark and a 19-22 record over the last two seasons at the helm of the ASU program.

ADAMS DOUBLE-DOUBLE SHINES VERSUS MEMPHIS
Sophomore forward Martavius Adams recorded his first double-double at Memphis scoring 11 points and pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. It was the third time an ASU player has recorded a double-double, with Brown notching one at SEMO and Peterson recording one against MacMurray College. On the season, Adams is averaging 9.6 ppg and pulling down 5.3 rebounds per contest.

McRoy Named Top-25 Mid-Major Assistant
Arkansas State assistant coach Elwyn McRoy garnered the no. 23 spot on the recent collegeinsider.com listing of the top-25 mid-major assistant coaches in the country.
    McRoy was described by collegeinsider as “arguably the best junior college recruiter in all of college basketball, much less the Mid-Major level, there is no coincidence that on-court success has followed McRoy throughout his entire career. During a span of five seasons in junior college, McRoy coached 28 players who went on to play Division I basketball.”
    This marks the second year in-a-row that one of Arkansas State's assistant coaches have been recognized as tops in the nation. Associate head coach Chad Dollar was ranked one of the top-10 assistant coaches by Fox Sports in 2008.
    McRoy was the only assistant coach in the Sun Belt Conference named to the list.

Head Coach John Brady
With a Final Four appearance and 281 career victories already to his credit, John Brady was announced as Arkansas State's 15th head men's basketball coach by Director of Athletics Dr. Dean Lee at a Wednesday morning press conference held in ASU's Convocation Center on March 19, 2008.
    During his first season with the Red Wolves, Brady helped lead ASU to one of the best starts in program history and achieved the No. 22 ranking on Collegeinsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. As a team ASU improved greatly its defending and rebounding finishing near the top of the conference in several statistical categories.
    Brady spent the last 10-plus seasons serving as LSU's head coach, leading the Tigers to six postseason berths, two SEC championships and three SEC Western Division titles. Twice named the SEC Coach of the Year, Brady is a proven winner who brings a well-documented record of success and a long list of accomplishments with him to Arkansas State.
    Chancellor Robert Potts said that he is very pleased with the selection of Coach Brady as Arkansas State's new head basketball coach.
    Brady's 16-year tenure as a head coach at both LSU and Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, has been decorated with achievements. He has coached a combined 25 All-TAAC and SEC selections, 48 academic all-conference choices, posted 11 winning seasons and collected five division championships. Brady piled up the third most wins in LSU history with 192 and left Samford after the 1996-97 season as the Bulldog's all-time leader in coaching victories (89) as well.
    He quickly turned around an LSU's men's basketball program that had suffered four consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, leading the Tigers to a 28-6 record, an SEC championship and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in just his third season (1999-00) at the helm. Under Brady's direction, the Tigers recorded six consecutive winning seasons from 2001-02 to 2006-07 while making three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two more to the NIT. The 2005-06 campaign saw LSU post a 27-9 record and advance to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.
    Not only did Brady coach the Tigers to 23 wins versus ranked opponents, he also led them to victories over two teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll (Arizona in 2002-03 and Duke in 2005-06). Additionally, he orchestrated a 19-game home winning streak over SEC opponents, the third longest stretch in LSU history.
    While at LSU, Brady coached two NBA Lottery picks and six current NBA players. The Tigers signed nine Parade All-Americans and four McDonald All-Americans under Brady, who also coached three SEC Players of the Year, four players named SEC Freshman of the Year, one SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 17 All-SEC selections.
    Prior to taking over the reigns at LSU, Brady served as Samford's head coach from 1991-92 through 1996-97. It didn't take long for him to turn around a Samford program coming off six straight losing seasons, either, guiding the Bulldogs to a 17-10 record in his second season. He led Samford to three straight winning seasons (1995-97) for the first time since 1982-84, all leading up to a 19-9 record and division title in 1997. Samford won the TAAC West Division each of Brady's final two seasons at the school for the first time in school history.
    His four winning campaigns at Samford were the first for any coach at the school, and he led the Bulldogs to an 89-77 record after they went 27-83 the four seasons prior to his initial year. He coached eight All-TAAC and 14 Academic All-TAAC players over six seasons.
    The McComb, Miss., native earned his bachelor's degree in 1976 from Belhaven College, where he was three-year starter and scored over 1,000 points during his college playing career. Brady was a two-time All-Southern States Conference selection and was later inducted into his alma mater's Hall of Fame.
    He got his coaching start as a graduate assistant with the Mississippi State men's basketball program while earning his master's degree from 1976-77. Brady took his first head coaching position in Louisiana at Crowley High School in 1977 and led the basketball squad to a 129-49 (.725) record in five seasons. He was named the 1981 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3-A Coach of the Year.
    Brady returned to the college coaching ranks in 1982 as an assistant coach at Mississippi State. He spent the next eight years with the Bulldogs, the first four seasons under coach Bob Hoyt and the next four as a chief recruiter for coach Richard Williams. Following his tenure in Starkville, Brady returned to Louisiana for the second time, this time to serve as an assistant coach at the University of New Orleans. Brady helped lead UNO to the NCAA Tournament during his only season with the Privateers.

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