Red Wolves comeback falls short against JMU
Arkansas State men’s basketball rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit, but could not complete the comeback in a 77-73 loss to James Madison Wednesday night inside First National Bank Arena.
A-State (10-14, 6-6 SBC) managed to cut a 16-point deficit down to four, but JMU (21-3, 9-3) converted foul shots in the final minute to maintain the two-possession advantage.
The Red Wolves bounced back from a slow start in the opening 20 minutes to outscore the Dukes 51-42 and shoot 57.1 percent (20-35) in the second half. As a whole, A-State shot 40.3 percent (25-62) from the field and 30.0 percent (9-30) from 3-point range, while hitting 14-of-19 at the charity stripe (73.7 percent).
Taryn Todd led four Red Wolves in double figures with 18 points and seven assists off the bench. Caleb Fields added 15 points and four dimes, while Derrian Ford scored 13 points with six rebounds. Dyondre Dominguez scored 10 points to round out the quartet. Freddy Hicks played 17 minutes in reserve, grabbing a game-high and season-best 11 rebounds to accompany seven points.
JMU won the rebounding battle, 40-38, and shot 45.5 percent (30-66) for the game. Noah Freidel notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards and Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 14 points, with three other Dukes scoring eight or more.
After a Dominguez trey gave A-State an early lead, the Dukes went on a 14-2 run to mount an 11-point lead midway through the first half. The visitors clung to that lead, owning a 35-22 advantage at intermission.
A layup by Jaylen Carey five mintues into the second half gave JMU its largest lead of the night, but A-State slowly cut into the deficit as the half progressed. Todd scored seven unanswered points to make it 69-63 with 52 seconds left, and then a Hicks layup with under 20 seconds to go made It 73-69. The teams traded free throws down the stretch before Avery Felts ended the contest with a layup off an offensive rebound.
NEXT UP
The Red Wolves conclude their four-game home stand Saturday, hosting Ohio in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off against the Bobcats inside First National Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m.
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