Izaiyah Nelson led five double-figure scorers on Saturday, as the Arkansas State men’s basketball team routed UAB 87-68 inside First National Bank Arena.
Nelson scored a career-high 17 points with seven rebounds, helping A-State (3-7) shoot 50.8 percent (33-65) against the Blazers (4-5), while swatting away a pair of shots and grabbing three steals. The Red Wolves knocked down knocked down 13 3-pointers for a 43.3-percent clip and limited UAB to just 25.0 percent (6-24) from deep while forcing 13 turnovers.
Caleb Fields returned to the lineup and steered the offense for 32 minutes, scoring nine points to go along with seven assists to eclipse 500 dimes for his career. He becomes just the third player in program history with 500 or more career assists.
Avery Felts buried five treys for a season-high 15 points – including 12 in the second half, while Taryn Todd added 13 off the bench. Julian Lual chipped in 11 points in reserve, as A-State’s bench accounted for 43 points. Dyondre Dominguez recorded his third double-double of the season, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds to accompany five assists without a turnover.
After UAB scored the game’s first four points and owned a 9-5 lead, the Red Wolves surged ahead with an 11-1 run capped by a Fields layup to lead 16-10. The Blazers then reclaimed a four-point lead at the under-8 mark, but A-State closed the half on a 17-5 run to own a 46-38 lead at intermission.
A-State pushed its lead out to double digits early in the second half on a Derrian Ford trey followed by a Nelson slam, but UAB pulled within six after the Blazers’ top scorer Yaxel Lendeborg (17 points) converted a 3-point play to make it 53-47. A Todd jumper preceded a pair of Felts perimeter scores to put the count at 61-47, and then the Blazers cut the margin to single-digits midway through the half.
The Red Wolves’ largest lead of 22 came when Lual drained a corner three to cap an 11-0 run in which the Calgary, Alberta, native accounted for nine of those points. UAB made it a 16-point ballgame with 4:38 to go, but A-State answered each score, ending the contest on a Nelson layup inside the final minute.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State returns to the road for its next test, traveling to take on ACC foe Louisville. Tip-off against the Cardinals is slated for 7 p.m. CT inside the KFC Yum! Center.
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