JONESBORO, Ark. (2/22/20) – The Arkansas State men's basketball team got a career-high 27 points from junior guard Marquis Eaton, but Little Rock escaped with a narrow 81-78 victory Saturday night at First National Bank Arena in a Sun Belt Conference matchup that featured 13 ties and 20 lead changes.
Joined by freshman guard Caleb Fields and senior forward Malik Brevard with 11 and 10 points, respectively, Eaton was one of three A-State (15-14, 7-11) players to score in double figures.
While the Trojans (19-9, 12-5) posted a higher field goal percentage, .500 to .406, the Red Wolves attempted 19 more shots with three more made buckets. A-State also pulled down three more total rebounds (39-36), including 17 offensive boards it turned into 20 second chance points.
The Red Wolves made two more shots from beyond the arc as well, but Little Rock connected on 27-of-37 free throw attempts to outscore the Red Wolves by 11 points at the line.
The Trojans held a narrow 37-35 advantage at the break and neither team led by more than five points in the second half. The contest's final 20 minutes were a back-and-forth battle that saw the teams exchange the lead multiple times, but the Red Wolves took their final advantage with 1:18 left when Christian Willis made layup to make the score 76-75.
Little Rock was able to take the lead right back on its next possession after Markquis Nowell hit a running three pointer from the left wing. A-State corralled an offensive rebound its next trip down the floor before turning the ball over, and Nowell was able to make 1-of-2 free throws at the other end of the court to put the Trojans up 79-76 with 27 second remaining.
Eaton got a look at potential game-tying three with nine seconds left, but it was off the mark and Little Rock grabbed the rebound. A-State was forced to foul and Nowell made two additional free throws to make it a two-possession game before Willis closed the outing with a baseline jumper to set the final score.
"This was tough loss for us, but I was very proud of the way our guys fought and approached this game," said A-State Head Coach Mike Balado. "I thought they played extremely hard with great energy and enthusiasm. It's tough when you have four guys foul out – we were piecing it together the last two minutes, but hats off to Little Rock. Still, I was very proud of our team and their effort – I thought they gave it all they had."
Led by Kamani Johnson with a game-high 32 points, Little Rock built a 14-7 early lead. Capped by a pair of Fields' free throws, A-State responded with an 11-1 run to take its first lead, 18-15, at the 9:04 mark.
The Trojans wouldn't regain the advantage until 5:48 remaining in the opening half and eventually built their lead back to seven points, 37-30, with under a minute left. A-State scored the final five points of the first half.
Arkansas State returns to action next week with a pair of road games to close out the regular season. The squad will play at Louisiana on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7:00 p.m. before facing Georgia Southern on Tuesday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m.
