Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Arkansas State men’s basketball (16-11, 7-7 SBC) battled into overtime against South Alabama (19-7, 9-4 SBC) for the second time this season before falling in a 92-88 decision on Saturday afternoon inside First National Bank Arena.
Christian Harmon netted a career-high 33 points, tying Chandler Jackson’s total versus Missouri State on Nov. 11 for the most by a Red Wolf this season. Jackson (13) and TJ Caldwell (11) also reached double figures while the former led the team with seven assists.
Jalen Hampton registered a career-best 16 rebounds and Aly Tounkara was not far behind with 15.
As a team the Red Wolves shot 26-for-65 (40.0 percent) from the field, including 16-for-41 (39.0 percent) from three-point range, and 20-for-30 from the free-throw line. The 16 three-point field goals tie for the sixth most in program history and fall four shy of the record set versus Lyon College on December 7, 2002.
After falling behind 11-3, Harmon spearheaded a 16-0 run with eight points, including two three-pointers, to take an eight-point advantage with 9:41 to go. South Alabama responded by scoring nine of the next 14 points and closed the gap to four, but another pair of makes from beyond the arc plus two free throws allowed A-State to maintain the lead.
A second chance make from beyond the arc for the Jaguars was immediately matched by Harmon and resulted in a 35-26 score with 4:31 left in the first half. Harmon countered two free throws by connecting from deep once again and pushed the Red Wolves’ advantage to double digits for the first time in the contest.
The junior guard ended A-State’s three-point barrage with his sixth in the first 20 minutes and created a 41-32 lead going into intermission.
The Jaguars outscored the Red Wolves 18-12 over the first eight minutes of the second half and made it a one possession ballgame before back-to-back scores plus Harmon’s seventh triple of the afternoon made the score 60-50. The offensive surge reached its peak at the 6:34 mark, when A-State converted two free throws to make the score 75-57.
Momentum shifted into the opposition’s favor beyond that point as a 6-0 run over the next 1:15 closed the gap to 12 points. South Alabama countered two free throws with a 10-0 run to make the score 77-75, but a second-chance dunk for Jalen Hampton stalled the rally effort.
A pair of free throws extended the lead to six points, but the score eventually stood at 83-79 before a four-point play from the opposition tied the contest and triggered overtime. The Jaguars outscored A-State 6-2 in the period before Harmon connected on a three-pointer with 28 seconds left.
However, the Red Wolves were unable to score again before the clock hit 0:00.
NEXT UP
A-State travels south for a matchup against Louisiana on Thursday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. inside the Cajundome. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.
