JONESBORO, Ark. (11/14/22) – Led by a season-high five players scoring in double figures, including freshmen Terrance Ford Jr. and Izaiyah Nelson with 16 points each, the Arkansas State men's basketball team claimed an 82-58 victory over Lyon College on Monday night at First National Bank Arena.
Arkansas State (2-1) improved to 2-0 at home this season after shooting 50 percent from the field and outscoring Lyon (1-2) 48-18 in the paint. The Scots recorded a .415 shooting percentage and hit 44 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, but A-State recorded 14 steals and scored 36 points off 24 Lyon turnovers.
Ford and Nelson both posted a season-high scoring output, as did junior guard Caleb Fields and freshman forward Alaaeddine Boutayeb with 12 and 10 points respectively. Forward Omar El-Sheikh added 12 points for A-State, which finished with 27 assists to just seven turnovers.
Sophomore guard Avery Felts dished out a career-high nine assists, while Nelson and Ford grabbed a team-best five rebounds apiece as the Red Wolves and Scots both finished with 32 rebounds.
The game's first six minutes saw four lead changes and three ties before A-State took the advantage for good. With the score tied 11-11, the Red Wolves put together a 17-6 run to open a double-figure lead at 28-17 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Arkansas State went on to take a 44-34 lead into the break and held a double-digit advantage for the entire second half. The Red Wolves scored the first eight points coming out of the locker room to make the score 52-34 before going on to the 24-point victory.
Limiting the Scots to 58 points, the Red Wolves have now allowed no more than 61 points in each of their first three games to start a season since 1981-82.
Arkansas State returns to action Friday, Nov. 18, with an 8:00 p.m. (CT) road game at UC Davis. The contest will appear on ESPN+ and every A-State game can be heard live on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network, including flagship station 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area.
