JONESBORO, Ark. (1/23/25) – In front of a national TV audience and a crowd of over 6,200 inside First National Bank Arena, the Arkansas State men's basketball team continued its home success with a 65-55 win over Appalachian State Thursday night.
The Red Wolves (15-5, 6-2 SBC) moved to 10-0 at home with the win over the Mountaineers (11-8, 5-3) while becoming the first A-State team since 1988-89 to win 15 or more games through the first 20 games or less.
A-State shot 36.4 percent from the field (24-66) and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 43-39, while only committing six turnovers. Defensively, the Red Wolves held App State to just 2-for-27 (7.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Kobe Julien led for double-digit scorers for A-State with 18 points, while Joseph Pinion dialed up four made treys in a 14-point effort. Taryn Todd added 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half, and Izaiyah Nelson had 10 with seven boards.
Rashaud Marshall led all players on the glass with 11 boards, while Terrance Ford Jr. scored 7 points and dished out 7 assists to just one turnover along with 5 rebounds.
A-State took an early 4-0 lead from the jump, expanding it to 14-8 on a dunk by Nelson before the Mountaineers went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-14 lead with 8:43 left in the half – their lone lead in the contest.
A Pinion trey put the Scarlet and Black ahead 20-17, and then Julien took over with the Red Wolves' final 10 points of the half. He had 17 at the break, helping A-State hold a 30-25 edge.
The Red Wolves opened the second half on an 8-0 run to expand their lead to what would be their largest of the night, up 38-25 on a Nelson floater. App State would answer back with a 13-2 run to pull within two on a score by Myles Tate, who scored 13 points. Pinion responded with a three to make it a 43-38 affair with under 12 minutes before CJ Huntley scored three of his game-high 22 points to make it 44-43 with 10:44 remaining.
A-State widened the gap back out to eight with under 4 minutes to play on a three by Pinion and lay-in from Marshall, but Tate and Huntley managed to work it back down to a two-score game with 1:16 to go. Following a Nelson dunk, Todd and Ford converted at the foul line to seal a fourth-straight win for the Red Wolves.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State concludes its four-game home stand Saturday, hosting Texas State. Tip-off against the Bobcats is set for 2 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The radio broadcast 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.
