JONESBORO, Ark. (1/29/21) – On Friday night, the Arkansas State men's basketball team had to wait a bit longer than scheduled to take the floor versus UT Arlington.
It proved to be well worth the wait, as the Red Wolves (6-8, 3-4 SBC) battled back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to force overtime and defeat the Mavericks (8-9, 4-5) 83-75 at First National Bank Arena.
Norchad Omier yet again notched a double-double – his eighth of the season and fourth consecutive – with 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. The freshman extended his streak of games with 10-plus rebounds to 11. Marquis Eaton led A-State with 18 points, going a perfect 8 for 8 at the free-throw line. Malcom Farrington contributed 15 points on five made threes off the bench, while Caleb Fields tallied 14 points and seven assists. Keyon Wesley was also a double-double performer, recording 11 points and a career-high 13 boards. UTA's Sam Griffin led all players with 28 points on 11 of 24 shooting (4 of 10 from three).
A-State shot 40.3 percent from the field (29 of 72) and was 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. However, it was at the free-throw line where the Red Wolves found greater success, making 17 of 19 foul shots (89.5 percent). Behind the double-digit rebounding from Omier and Wesley, A-State dominated the boards, out-rebounding UT Arlington 52-36.
UTA led by as much as 13 in the first half, leading 30-17 on a trey by Jordan Phillips with 4:50 to go. However, the Red Wolves pulled to within single digits to end the half, closing on a 9-5 run in the last three-and-a-half minutes.
The Mavericks opened up the second half by expanding their lead once again out to as much as 13, but A-State roared back, going on a 12-0 run to cut it to 48-47 with 10:22 remaining. The rest of the half would be back and forth, with UTA expanding its lead and the Red Wolves closing the gap multiple times. A-State was strong at the charity stripe down the stretch to keep it within a two-score contest, as a pair of Eaton free throws made it a one-point game with 30 seconds to go.
After A-State fouled Phillips with 19 seconds left, the Maverick connected on the front end of a one-and-one, with Eaton corralling the rebound. After the timeout, Fields drove down the lane, burying a layup with seven seconds remaining to tie it up and force overtime.
UTA led from the tip in overtime on a layup by Shahada Wells, but A-State responded with an inside score by Omier to tie it once more. After a Griffin layup put the Mavericks ahead, Eaton responded with back-to-back buckets to put the Red Wolves ahead by two. A Patrick Mwamba three gave UTA a one-point edge, but that would be all for naught as A-State surged on a game-ending 9-0 run, capped off by a thunderous dunk by Wesley with 11 seconds to play.
A-State returns to action Saturday to face the Mavericks in the second game of the two-game series at First National Bank Arena. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and the radio broadcast can be heard on 107.9 KFIN.
