TROY, Ala. (1/25/20) – Defense carried the Arkansas State men's basketball to a third-straight win as the Red Wolves defeated Troy 78-62 Saturday at Trojan Arena.
A-State (15-7, 7-4 Sun Belt) held Troy (8-14, 4-7) to 29 percent (17-58) from the floor while shooting 52 percent (27-52). The defensive effort was a season-best as Troy becomes the first opponent to shoot below 30 percent this season.
Melo Eggleston led A-State with 15 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Jerry Johnson (12) and Christian Willis (11) reached double figures off the bench while J.J. Matthews had 11 points and Canberk Kus had eight points and 10 rebounds. Khalyl Waters led Troy with 15 points.
"From the get go, I thought we had a great bounce in our step, especially defensively," said A-State head coach Mike Balado. "Our defensive effort was pretty impressive over the first 10 minutes and we took good shots on offense and executing well. Our guys shared the ball well and I thought this was our most complete game we've played this year for offensive and defensive purposes."
The Red Wolves jumped out to a quick 13-5 lead, but the Trojans pulled within four, 16-12. A-State answered as Troy did not convert a field goal for nearly six minutes as the Red Wolves went on a 15-2 run to lead 31-14 with 5:52 to play in the half. Troy outscored A-State 11-6 the remainder of the half, but the Red Wolves held a 37-25 advantage at the break, the largest halftime lead of the season.
Troy missed their first 10 shots of the second half and A-State built a 20-point advantage, 46-26, with 15:33 to play. Later the Trojans cut the Red Wolves lead back to 12, but Willis hit a three-pointer and Eggleston followed with a layup to get the lead back to 15 for A-State. The Red Wolves did not let Troy get closer than 12 the remainder of the half.
A-State shot above 50 percent for the second consecutive game and seventh time on the season finishing 27-of-52 (.519) from the field. The Red Wolves were an efficient 7-of-15 (.467) from 3-point range while hitting 63.0 percent (17-27) at the stripe. Troy was 17-of-58 (.293) from the field and 6-of-24 (.250) beyond the arc. The Trojans knocked down 22-of-30 (.733) at the free throw line.
Troy out-rebounded A-State 38-37, but the Red Wolves owned a 36-22 advantage in the paint. A-State scored 15 points on the fast break and finished with 18 assists to nine turnovers.
A-State returns to First National Bank Arena to host Appalachian State on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
