A dominant second-half performance Thursday night lifted the Arkansas State men’s basketball team to an 82-71 triumph at Troy inside Trojan Arena.
Trailing by seven at the half, A-State (12-14, 7-6 SBC) routed the Trojans (17-9, 10-3) 48-30 in the final 20 minutes to halt Troy’s six-game winning streak. Five players scored in double figures, led by Taryn Todd’s 19 points.
Izaiyah Nelson enjoyed a career night, notching a career-high 18 points (14 in the second half) and 12 rebounds with four blocked shots in a career-high 39 minutes. Freddy Hicks added 16 points and six boards off the bench, while Caleb Fields scored 15 points and became just the eighth person in school history to score 1,500 points in a career. Derrian Ford scored 11 points to round out the quintet.
As a team, A-State shot 49.3 percent (33-67) from the field, including a 54.3-percent (19-35) mark in the second half. The Red Wolves connected on 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from 3-point range and out-rebounded the league’s top rebounding team, 43-35. A-State tallied a season-best 33 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds and accounted for 48 points in the paint.
The Red Wolves started hot from long range, connecting on four of its first five attempts to take a 16-10 lead before the hosts pulled ahead with a 12-3 run. Fields later put the Scarlet and Black in front 29-28 with a layup, but Troy closed the opening 20 minutes on a 13-5 run over the final 6-plus minutes to lead 41-34 at the half.
Troy led by no more than six early in the second half, and A-State pulled ahead 69-60 with five minutes remaining when Todd capped a 15-2 run with a layup. The Trojans pulled back within six on a trey by leading scorer Aamer Muhammad (22 points) at the 3:57 mark before the Red Wolves scored eight unanswered to lead by 14 with a minute to play.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State continues its road swing through the Yellowhammer State on Saturday, taking on South Alabama. Tip-off against the Jaguars inside the Mitchell Center is slated for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN Plus
