Taryn Todd led three players in double figures with 31 points, but the Arkansas State men’s basketball team dropped a hard-fought 81-75 decision at Bowling Green on Saturday inside the Stroh Center.
A-State (0-2) battled back from a pair of double-digit deficits, but the Falcons (2-0) hit four free throws at the end to seal the win in the MAC-SBC Challenge contest. The Red Wolves shot 49.2 percent on 32-of-65 from the field, while BGSU shot an even 50 percent (30-60) and 75 percent at the free-throw line (15-20).
Todd, who hit 14 of his 27 field-goal attempts, added five rebounds and seven assists with no turnovers to his line to become the first A-State player with a 30-5-5 performance since 2014. Dyondre Dominguez recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 boards while Freddy Hicks scored 12 points.
Derrian Ford scored eight points off the bench and tied Hicks with a team-high two 3-point makes, while grabbing six rebounds. The Scarlet and Black outscored Bowling Green in the paint 50-46 while blocking six shots – two by Dominguez.
The Falcons surged ahead to an early 15-3 lead – their largest lead of the first half – following a trey by DaJion Humphrey at the 13:55 mark. Humphrey scored 22 points, while Marcus Hill added a team-high 26 points.
A-State then clawed back over a five-minute stretch with a 13-0 run, taking a 31-30 lead on a layup by Todd – two of his 12 first-half points. Hill hit a pair of shots within the final minute to give Bowling Green a 34-31 halftime edge.
Bowling Green expanded its lead to 47-41 out of intermission, but the Red Wolves battled back to lead 53-52 on a Todd layup. A 10-0 run then moved the Falcons back ahead 62-53.
A-State rallied back from an 11-point deficit and trailed by three after a Dominguez trey. Hill scored on a layup to make it 76-69, but a Hicks 3-point play trimmed the margin back to four with 43 seconds remaining.
With 19 seconds left, Avery Felts knocked down a corner three to make it a 2-point affair, and then the Falcons converted four free throw attempts late.
NEXT UP
A-State returns home for its home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 14, hosting Alcorn State. Tip-off against the Braves is slated for 7 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena.
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