The Arkansas State men's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped Monday night at First National Bank Arena, falling 57-52 to a Texas State team leading the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings.
Playing its home finale, A-State (10-10, 7-6) dropped just its third game of the season on its own court as its record in Jonesboro moved to 9-3. Texas State (16-6, 10-3) won its fifth consecutive outing, increasing its shooting percentage from .333 in the first half to .500 in the second to overcome a 25-21 halftime deficit.
The Red Wolves were led by two players scoring in double figures, including freshman forward Norchad Omier with 16 points and 14 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. It was his 15th game this year with double-digit rebounds, the most by an A-State player since Anthony Livingston also had 15 in 2015-16.
Senior guard Marquis Eaton added 13 points for the Red Wolves, pushing his career scoring total to 1,256 as he passed Anthony Miles (1,250 points from 1978-81) for the 12th most in school history.
While the Bobcats increased their shooting percentage from the first to second half, the Red Wolves percentage dropped, and they couldn't find the mark from three-point range all game. A-State, which entered the game ranked sixth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, went 0-of-13 beyond the arc. It was the first time since 2011 that the Red Wolves didn't make a three – a streak of 305 consecutive games.
A-State was able to build a four-point halftime advantage and increased it to a game-high eight, 31-23, with 17:55 remaining in the second half. The Red Wolves still held a 37-32 lead with 12:11 remaining, but the Bobcats went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to go up 40-37.
Arkansas State was able to come back and tie the game at 50-50 at the 3:27 mark, but were unable to ever regain the lead. It remained a one-possession contest until the final seconds before Texas State escaped with the five-point victory.
Texas State finished the night with a .412 field goal percentage in comparison to A-State's .368 mark, while the Red Wolves held a 35-33 advantage on the boards. The Bobcats were also a perfect 10-of-10 at the charity stripe and connected on 5-of-12 three pointers.
A-State returns to action this weekend with a pair of road games at UT Arlington. The Red Wolves and Mavericks will play Friday, Feb. 26, and Saturday, Feb. 27, at 6:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively.
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