Freddy Hicks scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Arkansas State men’s basketball team, but a hot-shooting Wisconsin team claimed a 105-76 win on Monday inside the Kohl Center.
The Badgers (1-0) shot 65.0 percent on 39-of-60 from the field, while A-State (0-1) had three players score in double figures. Hicks’ 21-point outing marked his 17th career 20-point performance.
Caleb Fields added 17 points and Dyondre Dominguez dropped 14 points with a game-high eight boards off the bench. The Red Wolves shot 40.7 percent from the floor on 24-of-59 and went 24-for-33 (72.7 percent) at the foul line.
Chucky Hepburn led Wisconsin with 20 points on 7-of-10 and was one of four Badgers in double figures. AJ Storr added 15 points, while Max Klesmit scored 14 and John Blackwell scored 12 in reserve.
The Badgers opened by making six of their first seven shots from the field to build an early 13-2 lead, but the Red Wolves rallied to within six on a layup by Fields. Wisconsin answered with a pair of scores to move back ahead by 10, but Hardnett responded with a trey – his first A-State basket.
A-State closed the half hitting four of its last five shots, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Hicks to make it 56-41 at the half. Hicks led all players with 15 first-half points.
Hicks hit a pair of free throws early in the second half to pull the Scarlet and Black within 13, but the hosts scored 12 unanswered to stretch their lead out to 25 following a Hepburn triple.
Wisconsin’s largest lead of the night came on a three by Markus Ilver to move the score to 98-62 with 6:40 remaining. A-State continued to battle, ending the game on a 14-7 run.
NEXT UP
A-State concludes its season-opening road swing Saturday, Nov. 11, at Bowling Green in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off against the Falcons inside the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, is slated for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN+.
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