ARLINGTON, Texas (2/27/21) – The Arkansas State men's basketball team held a late lead on the road at UT Arlington, but the Mavericks closed the game with a 9-0 run to hand the Red Wolves a 64-56 setback on Tuesday in Sun Belt Conference action at the College Park Center.
 
A-State (10-12, 7-8) was led by senior guard Marquis Eaton with a game-high 15 points, while freshman forward Norchad Omier narrowly missed his 14th double-double of the season with nine points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
 
In a game that featured 18 lead changes and four ties, the Red Wolves finished with a .339 field goal percentage in comparison to the Mavericks .407.  UTA (13-12, 9-8) also four more rebounds (42-38) in the tightly-contested outing.
 
UT Arlington was able to turn its 35-33 halftime lead into a six-point advantage, 55-49, with 8:53 remaining before the Red Wolves put together a 7-0 run over the next five minutes to go back ahead 56-55.  However, A-State missed their final nine shots of the night as the Mavericks worked their way to the eight-point victory.
 
Both squads scored eight points at the charity stripe, but UTA connect on 42 percent of its shots (8-of-19) from beyond the arc, while Arkansas State was 6-of -21 from three-point range.
 
Arkansas State will be the No. 4 seed from the West Division and play the No. 5 seed from the East Division Georgia Southern Friday in Pensacola, Fla. The Sun Belt Conference plans to release the full tournament bracket at noon (CT) Sunday.
 
For the latest on A-State men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).