Arkansas State men’s basketball could not overcome Marshall’s second-half surge, falling 77-72 Wednesday night inside the Cam Henderson Center.
A-State (18-6, 9-3 SBC) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Thundering Herd (15-10, 8-4), which owned a 42-35 advantage on the glass and outscored the Red Wolves 48-37 in the final 20 minutes.
Joseph Pinion led three double-figure scorers with 21 points on 7-of-13 and 4-of-9 from 3-point range, while Kobe Julien recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Taryn Todd added 13 points, with Terrance Ford Jr. posting nine points and five assists and Izaiyah Nelson scoring nine.
The Red Wolves shot 39 percent from the floor on 23-of-59, going 10-for-24 (.417) from deep. Marshall owned a 44.6-percent clip for the night but was 60.7 percent from the floor in the second half.
A-State jumped out to a 10-2 lead before expanding its advantage to double digits on a Nelson lay-up. Rashaud Marshall pulled back within two on a score by Nate Martin, who had 18 points and 14 boards to pace the Herd. The hosts then tied it at 26 with 4:08 left in the half on a layup by Obinna Anochili-Killen. The Red Wolves used a 9-0 run to lead 35-26 with a minute before half, but a three by Mikal Dawson cut A-State’s halftime lead to 35-29.
Marshall came out surging to open the second half, using a go-ahead 12-2 run capped by five straight from Anochili-Killen to make it 41-37. After A-State pulled within one, the Thundering Herd lead grew to 11 on a jumper by Dezayne Mingo with 10 minutes to play.
Pinion drilled a trey to pull A-State back within four with under 5 minutes remaining, and then threes by Todd and Ford Jr. kept it within three inside with 2:09 left before Marshall converted free-throw opportunities down the stretch. Julien ended the night’s scoring in the final seconds, converting a three-point play.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State looks to move back into the win column Saturday, traveling to Kent State for the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off against the Golden Flashes inside the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio, is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.