Exhibition Game 2: Arkansas
State vs. Henderson State
November 6, 2012 l
Convocation Center
Jonesboro, Arkansas l
7:05 p.m. (CT)
Radio: EAB Sports
Radio Network (107.9 KFIN-FM, flagship) – Matt Stolz (Play-By-Play)
TV: AStateRedWolves.com
(State Zone live streaming)
LIVE STATS:
AStateRedWolves.com
Tip Off:
The
2012-13 Arkansas State University men's basketball team closes out its
exhibition play this Tuesday (Nov. 6) evening versus Henderson State at the ASU
Convocation Center. This season's final
tune-up contest is scheduled to get underway at 7:05 p.m. (CT).
Ticket
Info: Individual single-game prices are $12 for the upper center area, $10
for the upper side, $8 for the upper wings, $6 for children and senior citizens
(age 55+), and $5 group rate purchase of 12 tickets or more. Tickets may be purchased through the ASU Box
Office by calling 870-972-2781 or 888-ASU-FANS.
Ticket information for the 2012-13 season is also available on ASU
Athletics official website – www.AStateRedWolves.com.
The
Records: Arkansas State (0-0, 0-0 SBC).
The Red Wolves compiled a 14-20 overall mark
with a fifth-place 6-10 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) West Division ledger. ASU was 10-5 at home, 2-14 on the road, and
2-1 in neutral sites outings a season ago. Henderson State (0-0, 0-0 GAC). The Reddies notched a 16-11 overall record in
the 2012-13 season, which included a second-place 11-5 mark in the Great
American Conference (GAC). HSU was 6-6
on the road, 9-3 at home, and 1-2 at neutral sites a season ago.
The
Coaches: Arkansas State – John
Brady (Bellhaven, 1976), 5th season, 61-66 (.480); Career -
342-282 (.548) – (1-0 vs. SAU*). Brady
was named the 2009-10 SBC Coach of the Year and the District VII Coach of the
Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). He served six seasons (1991-97) as head coach
at Samford and then spent 10-plus seasons (1997-08) in a head coaching capacity
at LSU. Brady guided LSU to two SEC
Championship titles along with four NCAA Tournament appearances, which included
a Final Four appearance in the 2005-06 season.
*Denotes exhibition Henderson State –
Doug Nichols (Texas A&M, 2005), 2nd season,
16-11 (.593) – (0-1 vs. ASU*). Nichols is the 27th coach in the
program's history and arrived to HSU after spending the 2010-11 as the top
assistant at Arkansas Tech. While at ATU,
he helped the Wonder Boys to a Gulf South Conference West Division title along
with a NCAA Division II South Regional Tourney Semifinal appearance and a 25-6
overall record. Nichols was an assistant
coach at Stephen F. Austin in the 2009-10 campaign and spent one season
(2008-09) in the same capacity at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas. He served as an athletic assistant for men's
basketball operations at Texas A&M under former coach Billy Gillispie.
The
Opponent: The
Reddies, who were picked third in the
2012-13 GAC Coaches' Preseason Poll, return four starters from
last season's squad. HSU's top three
scorers – senior forward Andrew Ensley (15.6 ppg.), senior guard Denzel Lyles
(15.3 ppg.), and junior guard Jonathan Fitzgerald (10.6 ppg.) all return this
season. Lyles earned All-GAC First-Team
and GAC Newcomer of the Year recognition a season ago.
Series
Information: Arkansas
State has a 13-7 advantage over Henderson State in a series which originated in
the 1930-31 season. ASU dropped
back-to-back decisions, 44-40 and 41-32, to the Reddies in the 1930-31
season. The last regular-season meeting
between the two in-state schools occurred in 1951-52 when the Red Wolves
defeated HSU twice – 69-64 and 69-34. In
exhibition play, A-State has prevailed in all four such contests with the most
recent an 80-55 home triumph last season (11/3). ASU is 4-0 in exhibitions versus the Reddies
under head coach John Brady with home victories of 93-46 (11/3/08) in his
A-State debut, 80-61 (11/5/09), and 71-53 (11/8/10).
The Last
Series Meeting: The
Red Wolves posted an 80-55 home win against Henderson State last season (Nov.
3) as four A-State players cracked the double-figure scoring column. Marcus
Hooten's game-high 17 points off the bench led the way while Trey Finn contributed 14 points. The contest, which ASU led 36-26 at the half,
featured five ties and two lead changes.
Exhibition
Play: ASU has registered a 16-1 record in its last 17 such outings and is midst a current 15 exhibition-game winning string. The Red Wolves have outscored the opposition by a 24.5 points per game average during tht period while averaging
86.1 points a game to their opponent's 61.6 points per contest. A-State recorded an 83-67 home exhibition victory over Southern Arkansas last Tuesday (11/1) at the ASU Convocation Center. The Red Wolves have won by double digits in 14 of their last 15 exhibitions to date, which includes their last seven games.
Last Time Out: The Red Wolves opened their 2012-13 exhibition slate on a winning note with an 83-67 home triumph over Southern Arkansas last Tuesday (11/1) at The Convo. A-State led 41-36 at halftime and maintained a double-figure almost the entire second half. ASU concluded the game connecting on 50.0% (28-56) from the floor, including 43.5% (10-23) from outside the three-point arc. A-State outrebounded the Muleriders by a 35-28 margin. Junior guard Ed Townsel led four ASU players in double-digit scoring with a game-high 22 points off the bench. Trey Finn scored 19 points, including 16 in the first half, while junior forward Kendrick Washington and senior guard Marcus Hooten netted 15 and 11 points, respectively. In rebounding, Townsel's seven boards led all players while Washington and senior forward Brandon Peterson grabbed six caroms apiece.
ASU
Picked Second: Arkansas State was selected to finish second in the
Sun Belt Conference's West Division according to results from the 2012-13 SBC Coaches'
Preseason Poll. The Red Wolves received
40 points in the balloting to place second behind divisional favorite North Texas, which
garnered 55 points and 11 first-place votes.
Middle Tennessee was predicted to win the East Division crown by
claiming 11 first-place votes and 55 points.
All-SBC
Preseason: Three ASU seniors – guards Trey Finn and Marcus Hooten
along with forward Brandon Peterson
were named to the 2012-13 Sun Belt Conference Preseason All-Conference Teams as
selected by the league's head coaches.
Finn earned first team honors while Peterson garnered second-team
laurels and Hooten attained third-team recognition.
Primed
For Success: Five of the 2011-12 squad's top six scorers are
back for the 2012-13 season, including the Red Wolves' top points leader in Marcus Hooten (12.5 ppg.). The five, which includes four starters,
accounted for 68.7% (1,510-2,198) of A-State's scoring last season.
Team
Captains: The A-State captains for this 2012-13 season are Trey Finn, Marcus Hooten, and Brandon
Peterson. Hooten started in 33 of 34
games a season ago while Finn competed in 29 of 30 encounters. Peterson earned the starting nod in all 34
ASU contests last season.
Season Openers: ASU visits the Dayton Flyers this Saturday (Nov. 10) in its first official regular-season contest in Dayton, Ohio. Opening tip is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at Dayton Arena in what represents the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Red Wolves are 5-5 in regular-season openers since the 2002-03 campaign.
