NASSAU, Bahamas (11/30/24) – In its second game of the Baha Mar Nassau Championship, the Arkansas State men's basketball team dropped a 75-67 decision to Rice Saturday night.
The Red Wolves (5-2) had four double-figure scorers but could not overcome a 14-2 second-half run by the Owls (6-2), which went 32-for-39 at the foul line and edged A-State 40-39 in rebounding.
Terrance Ford Jr. led the Scarlet and Black in scoring with 13 points, while Kobe Julien, Derrian Ford and Rashaud Marshall had 10 points each. Derrian Ford also grabbed a team-leading eight boards.
A-State shot 35.1 percent (20-57) from the field and went 24-for-31 (77.4 percent) at the charity stripe, while the Owls shot 37.3 percent (19-51) from the floor.
The Red Wolves scored the game's first four points and mounted a 10-6 lead before the Owls tied it at 10. A Cody Head score put the A-State back ahead 18-12, which would be its largest lead of the half. Rice remained within two scores until a trey by Alem Huseinovic knotted it at 29 with 2:18 left in the period. The Owls would hold the lead until time expired, taking a 34-33 lead into the half.
The Red Wolves started fast out of the break, retaking a 46-39 lead with the help of 10 points from Julien inside the first three minutes. Rice answered with a 14-2 run to reclaim the lead at 53-48 after four straight points from Kellen Amos, but four straight points at the line pulled A-State back within one.
After Rice pushed its lead back out to four, A-State clawed back to within a point on a foul shot by Ford with 6:25 to play. The Owls then went on another run to lead by nine with 2:45 to go, aided by a pair of free throws from Trae Broadnax, who had a game-high 18 points. Rice's largest lead came with 31 seconds to play on a pair of free throws by Caden Powell, making it 75-65. Joseph Pinion capped the night's scoring with a jumper inside the final 25 seconds.
NEXT UP
A-State concludes action in The Bahamas on Sunday, facing Hofstra. Tip-off against the Pride is slated for 3:30 p.m. CT on FloCollege, while the radio broadcast of the contest can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State men's basketball program, follow @AStateMB on Twitter/X and @astatemb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateMB.
