PENSACOLA, Fla. (3/9/24) – A dominant defensive effort paved the way for the Arkansas State men's basketball team's offensive firepower on Saturday afternoon inside the Pensacola Bay Center, as the fourth-seeded Red Wolves topped Louisiana 89-62 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
A-State (17-15) poked away a season-high 14 steals, while dominating the fifth-seeded Ragin' Cajuns (19-14) 43-26 on the glass. The win propelled the Red Wolves into the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since 2014, while the 27-point margin of victory marked their largest ever in a conference tournament game.
Four Red Wolves scored in double figures, led by Freddy Hicks' season-high 23 points on 8-of-14 and 6-for-6 from the foul line. Hicks also grabbed seven rebounds and tallied two blocks and two steals.
Derrian Ford and Taryn Todd scored 18 points apiece, combining for 15 baskets, with Dyondre Dominguez scored 10 points with five boards in reserve action. Izaiyah Nelson added nine points and a game-high eight boards, while Avery Felts matched his career high with four steals, a block and 11 deflections.
As a team, A-State shot 50 percent from the field on 34-of-68 with 15 assists, while converting 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
The Cajuns shot 40.7 percent from the floor (22-54) while hitting just 3-of-15 from the perimeter. Kobe Julien and Hosana Kitenge scored 15 points each and Kentrell Garnett added 13.
Louisiana led for nearly the first 3-plus minutes of game clock before Ford and Nelson combined on a 7-0 run to put the Scarlet and Black on top 15-12. A-State fended off a late surge by the Cajuns and held them to just one point in the final four minutes of the first half. A Ford slam at the 3:48 mark sparked a half-ending 12-1 run to give the Red Wolves a commanding 48-33 lead at intermission.
Kitenge opened the second-half scoring with a layup, cutting the deficit to 13, but that would be as close as the Cajuns would get. The Red Wolves led by as much as 29 in the second half after a Felts trey with under 90 seconds remaining to cruise into the semifinals.
NEXT UP
A-State's season continues Sunday with a semifinal bout against top-seeded Appalachian State. Tip-off against the Mountaineers is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN Plus while the radio broadcast can be heard across the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network as well as the A-State Athletics 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.
