PENSACOLA, Fla. (3/8/25) – Arkansas State men's basketball advanced to the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship on Saturday, topping Marshall 77-74 in the quarterfinals inside the Pensacola Bay Center.
Five players scored in double figures for the fourth-seeded Red Wolves (23-9), which is set to play in the semifinals of the league tourney for the second year in a row. A-State turned the ball over just four times against the Thundering Herd (20-13) and forced seven steals. The Scarlet and Black shot 37.9 percent (25-66) as a team and went 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) at the foul line.
Both Izaiyah Nelson (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Kobe Julien (13 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles, while Taryn Todd scored a team-high 19 points. Terrance Ford Jr. had 18 points and Joseph Pinion tacked on 13 points.
Marshall's Obinna Anochili-Killen scored a game-high 26 points to accompany 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots. The Herd shot 38.1 percent (24-63) from the field and 67.9 percent (19-28) from the charity stripe.
The teams traded leads for nearly the entire first half with 10 ties and 13 lead changes. Marshall led by four following a trey by Jalen Speer and two Anochili-Killen free throws to hold a 30-26 edge with 4:56 remaining. A-State fought back to hit five of its next six shots to take a 39-34 lead, including a trey by Ford Jr., and ultimately led 39-36 at intermission.
Marshall opened the second half on a 13-5 run to take a 49-44 lead inside the four-plus minutes. A three by Dawson then gave the Herd its largest lead of the night, up 52-46 with 14:37 remaining. A-State then pulled back ahead by a score after Nelson free throws before Anochili-Killen tied it at 57 with a tip-in. Then, it was the Scarlet and Black that took a six-point lead on a Todd score with under five minutes to play.
After Julien scored to make it 71-65 with 3:31 remaining, Anochili-Killen and Dezayne Mingo (14 points) combined for a 6-0 run to level the score at 71-all. Clutch shooting both from the floor and the line proved pivotal, as A-State scored six of the game's final nine points to earn the hard-fought win.
NEXT UP
A-State now turns its attention to Sunday's semifinal test, top-seeded South Alabama, with hopes of advancing to the tournament championship game for the second year in a row. Tip-off against the Jaguars is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+, and the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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