JONESBORO, Ark. (11/9/21) – Desi Sills and Norchad Omier led the way Tuesday night for the Arkansas State men's basketball team in its season opener, lifting the Red Wolves to an 81-55 win over Harding.
Omier registered a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, the 16th of his career in 24 games played, while also swatting away 4 blocks and swiping 3 steals. Sills led all players with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 6 of 6 at the free-throw line, with 16 of his points coming in the first half.
A-State (1-0) out-rebounded the Bisons 43-34 while forcing 20 turnovers. On the offensive end, the Red Wolves shot 43.9 percent (29 of 66) and a stellar 95.2 percent (20 of 21) at the free-throw line. Including Omier and Sills, three players scored in double figures for A-State, with Marquis Eaton notching 10 points.
After the Red Wolves took an early 4-0 lead on a pair of Omier buckets, the Bisons took their only lead of the night with 16:29 to go in the first half up 7-4. A 9-0 run put the Scarlet and Black in the driver's seat for the rest of the night, holding off Harding and ultimately owned a 40-25 lead at the half.
That lead ballooned to as much as 27 in the second half on a jumper by Caleb Fields with 11:58 to go, putting the game out of reach. Fields tallied 7 points and 6 rebounds with 4 assists.
Stetson Smithson led Harding with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
A-State faces a tough test for its first road contest of the year, traveling to Champaign, Ill., to face 11th-ranked Illinois. Tip-off at the State Farm Center is slated for 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network+.
