Jonesboro, AR – (Contributed) – Arkansas State men’s basketball (6-3, 0-0 SBC) pulled away in the first half and did not look back in an 83-63 victory over UT Arlington (6-3, 0-0 WAC) on Tuesday night inside First National Bank Arena.
Jalen Hampton led the team with a season-high 19 points highlighted by 6-for-7 (85.7 percent) shooting from the floor and a 2-for-2 (100 percent) clip from three-point range. Jaxon Ellingsworth shot 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from the field and converted two triples plus six free throws to finish with 18 points.
Matt Hayman (12), Christian Harmon (11) and Chandler Jackson (11) also reached double figures while the latter dished a team-high seven assists. Hayman surpassed 1,000 points in his collegiate career, upping his total to 1,001 after tonight’s contest.
As a team, A-State shot 29-for-60 (48.3 percent) from the floor and converted 21 free throws on 29 attempts (72.4 percent). The Mavericks were limited to a 1-for-19 (5.3 percent) mark from beyond the arc in the contest, the lowest percentage for an opponent this season.
The Red Wolves erased a 10-6 deficit with a 9-0 run highlighted by a layup plus an alley-oop for Hayman, creating a 15-10 advantage. The run spanned 5:07 before a hookshot and back-to-back scores pushed the Mavericks ahead 16-15 with 8:23 remaining in the first half.
Harmon netted a free throw and layup over the next 2:16 to regain the lead for A-State, and Jackson converted a three-point play to create a five-point advantage. Jackson found Ellingsworth beyond the arc for a three-point basket while Harmon assisted Hampton on another triple in the next Red Wolves’ possession.
The Mavericks were held scoreless for another 4:48 before registering a second-chance layup, but Hampton countered with his second triple while two free throws on the same possession resulted in a 32-18 lead. Jackson landed a jumper with 46 seconds to go, and Harmon scored the final points of the half at the charity stripe to make the score 39-21.
The Scarlet and Black shot 48.1 percent (13-for-27) from the field and outscored UT Arlington 14-2 off turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
UT Arlington scored six of the first eight points of the second half before Harmon connected on a turnaround jumper to slow the Mavericks’ momentum. The gap closed to 11 before layups from Jackson, Ellingsworth, and Fredy-Salam Sylla pushed the advantage to 51-34.
Ellingsworth pushed the lead to 20 points with his second three-point basket at the 12:58 mark, but the Mavericks countered with three free throws and a dunk. Hampton matched the dunk and recorded a layup while Caldwell contributed two more points to make the score 60-41 with 9:03 to go.
A-State was outscored by the opposition 15-10 over the next 5:46 and the lead closed to 14 points. Jackson converted two free throws from the charity stripe while Ellingsworth added one more to make the score 73-56 at the 3:00 mark.
A layup from Hayman extended the lead to 21 points with 57 seconds on the clock and a dunk from the guard 18 seconds later pushed it to the final margin of 20.
NEXT UP
A-State faces Little Rock on Saturday, Dec. 6, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside the Jack Stephens Center. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.
