The Arkansas State Red Wolves fought back from down 14 to notch an 82-68 victory over the Idaho Vandals in the final game of the “Red Wolves Classic” tournament The Red Wolves swept the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record to move to 4-1 on the season.
Five Red Wolves finished in double-digits, led by Marquis Eaton’s 22 points. J.J. Matthews added 19 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds while Caleb Fields and Canberk Kus both scored 13 points each, with Kus grabbing 12 boards. Malik Brevard rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
“What a fun game. I’m so proud of my team. They were resilient. They never faltered; they stayed the course. I challenged them in the second half to play the way we play and we held them to 37 percent,” head coach Mike Balado said. “I’m so happy we were able to come out with three wins this weekend. They weren’t easy.”
The Red Wolves struggled early, as Idaho started the contest 14-for-18 from the field. The Vandals built their lead as high as 14 points in the first half before settling for a 43-45 halftime advantage.
Arkansas State squandered two chances to tie the game at the free-throw line in the second half but quickly responded by taking their first lead of the game with just 9:55 remaining on an Eaton triple.
“Eaton was awesome tonight. He was excellent. I knew he was going to have a good game when I walked into the gym this morning and he was shooting. I knew it. When he puts the time in like that, it always turns into something positive,” Balado said.
Over the next 3:03, there were two ties and seven lead changes. With 6:52 left in the game, A-State took the lead for good.
Kus grabbed an offensive board and put it right back for an easy two to give the Red Wolves a 64-63 lead and they never looked back. Down the stretch, Fields and Kus hit back-to-back triples to put the game out of reach. The Red Wolves finished the game on a 22-7 run.
“It was just getting over that hump. We would get it to one and couldn’t score. Once we got over that, though, it was crazy,” Eaton said. “Caleb (Fields) played really well tonight, Malik (Brevard) had 14 rebounds, Kus had 12 rebounds and hit that big shot. We were just clicking.”
“Once our defense picks up, we just get rolling,” Matthews said.
The Red Wolves showed great resiliency, overcoming a 14-point deficit to win by 14 themselves. Despite Idaho shooting lights out in the first half, A-State stuck to the gameplan and found a way to claw their way back into the game. Once they got over the hump, they never looked back.
Next up, the Red Wolves will travel to Colorado State for a non-conference matchup. The game is set to tipoff at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
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