KENT, Ohio (2/8/25) – In a game that saw 13 ties and 25 lead changes, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team ultimately came up short in a 76-75 decision at Kent State Saturday inside the M.A.C. Center.

The Red Wolves (18-7), which led at the half, had possession in the final seconds but could not get a shot to fall. The Golden Flashes (15-5) outscored A-State 40-36 in the final 20 minutes to battle back from the halftime deficit.

A-State shot 39.4 percent from the floor (26-66) and forced Kent State into 15 turnovers. Joseph Pinion led four double-figure scorers with 20 points, his second straight 20-point outing. Taryn Todd had 17 points with 5 assists and season-high 5 steals, while Terrance Ford Jr. and Izaiyah Nelson scored 11 and 10, respectively.

The Golden Flashes shot 46.8 percent (22-47) in the contest and were 25-of-28 at the foul line. Jalen Sullinger hit four of his team’s seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 27 points. Marquis Bennett added 14 points off the bench while Delrecco Gillespie had 12 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.

Ford Jr. knocked down a trey less than two minutes into the contest to cap a game-opening 7-0 run for the Scarlet and Black, which would be the largest lead for either team in the affair. Kent State took its first lead of the day on three foul shots by Jamal Sumlin, and then a three by Magnus Entenmann gave the Flashes their largest lead of the day, up 14-9 with 13 minutes left in the half.

A-State reclaimed a two-possession lead on a second-chance dunk by Nelson that made it 29-23 with 7:43 left before half, and then the hosts responded by reclaiming a 3-point lead with 3:35 left on a layup by Sullinger. The Red Wolves closed the half on an 8-2 run, leading 39-36 at the break.

As back-and-forth as was the first half, the second stanza proved to be even more so. Neither side led by more than two possessions, as a Ford Jr. foul shot made it 68-63 with 4:37 remaining. Barnett then converted at the stripe to pull the score even at 68, capping a 5-0 Flashes run. Pinion drilled a trey with 3:09 to go to make it 71-68 before Kent State pulled ahead 72-71 on free throws by Sumlin. The teams traded baskets with under a minute to play before Sumlin converted two at the line to put Kent State on top 76-75 with 15 seconds. After a pair of timeouts, A-State worked the clock down to its final seconds when a pair of shots rimmed out before time expired.

NEXT UP

Arkansas State looks to move back into the win column Wednesday, returning home to open a four-game home stand against Southern Miss. Tip-off against the Golden Eagles inside First National Bank Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+. 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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