A-State’s Bench Comes Up Big in 67-58 Win Over Louisiana

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Written by Arkansas State University

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July 8, 2022

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JONESBORO, Ark. (2/5/22) – The Arkansas State men’s basketball team’s bench came up big in the second half of its Sun Belt Conference game against Louisiana on Saturday, helping lead the Red Wolves to a 67-58 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns at First National Bank Arena.

A-State earned a regular-season split in its two match-ups with the Ragin’ Cajuns, moving its overall record to 15-6 and league mark to 6-3. Louisiana now stands 10-11 overall and 5-6 in Sun Belt play.

Markise Davis, Malcolm Farrington and Antwon Jackson all entered the game off the bench and combined to score 29 points, including a critical six-minute stretch in the second half where they scored all of the Red Wolves’ 19 points to turn a four-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the 5:39 mark.

Two of four A-State players scoring in double figures, Davis finished the outing with 13 points and Jackson with a season-high 10. Desi Sills scored a team-high 15 points and Marquis Eaton added 10 for the Red Wolves, while Norchad Omier pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds.

Omier, A-State’s leading scorer (17.0 ppg) and rebounder (11.2 rpg), exited the game with 12:26 remaining after picking up his fourth foul, and Sills, the team’s second leading scorer (13.4 ppg), picked up his fourth at the 7:11 mark.

Arkansas State led just 42-38 when Omier left the game in foul trouble, but the Red Wolves outscored the Ragin’ Cajuns 19-10 over the next six minutes. The A-State surge began with back-to-back three pointers from Davis and Farrington to push the lead back to double digits.

Following a Louisiana bucket, Davis hit a jumper, Farrington another three and Jackson scored inside to push the Red Wolves’ advantage to 15 points, 57-42, with just under eight minutes remaining. The Ragin’ Cajuns were able to claw back within 61-56 at the 1:08 mark, but couldn’t get any closer as Eaton went 6-of-6 at the free throw line the rest of the way to secure the victory.

Louisiana completed the game with a 43-30 advantage on the boards, but A-State posted a .391 field goal percentage in comparison to the Ragin’ Cajuns .340. The Red Wolves also posted seven more assists and took advantage of 20 Louisiana turnovers that they turned into 19 points.

Although Caleb Fields was held scoreless by Louisiana, he played a big role in the victory with a career-high nine assists and career-tying three steals. Omier’s streak of 10 consecutive double-doubles came to an end as he finished with eight points to go along with his 17 boards.

The Red Wolves never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 25-9 lead before going into the locker room up 34-23 at halftime. Louisiana was led by two players scoring in double figures, including Jordan Brown with a team-high 20 points. Kobe Julien also scored 17 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Arkansas State returns to action Thursday, Feb. 10, with a 6:00 p.m. contest at Troy, which kicks off a four-game road swing for the Red Wolves. The Red Wolves match up against the Trojans will appear on ESPN+, and every A-State game can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network, including flagship station 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area.

For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).