Arkansas State’s mens and womens teams won their games Saturday, defeating Sun Belt Conference opponents Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) and Old Dominion, respectively.

The A-State men’s team dominated ULM from start to finish, coming out at tip-off with a 7-0 run, continuing the aggressive offense until the clock hit zero. At halftime, the Red Wolves had the Warhawks down 57-37.

ULM never got closer than 15 points within the lead, with Arkansas State winning the game 95-80.

Point guard Caleb Fields was team leader in scoring, putting up 22 points. Fields led in assists with 13 and led in free throws, going 7-9. 

Fields also broke the school record for most free-throw attempts with 663, a record held since 1965 by A-State’s all-time leading scorer Jerry Rook with 657 attempts. Following this, Fields was then named Sun Belt Conference player of the week for Men’s basketball on Tuesday. 

He also holds the school record for games started with a current total of 126. 

Forward Izaiyah Nelson scored 16 points and led the Red Wolves in rebounds with 10. Nelson received coach Brian Hodgson’s Hard Hat Player of the Game award for his efforts.

The A-State bench put up good numbers as well and the bench players led the squad in three-pointers, making 90% of their attempts (10-11). Guard Zane Bradley scored 16 points, as well as going 5-5 from the free-throw line.

Forward Julian Lual scored 14 and guard Taryn Todd scored 11. Todd was second on the team in rebounds, with six.

The men improve their record to 10-13 and will stay at home to play the James Madison Dukes (20-3), who currently have one of the best records in college basketball. The Red Wolves play at First National Bank Arena on Wednesday.

The Red Wolves women’s team defeated Old Dominion 76-63, after a back and forth game that saw eight different lead changes over the first three quarters of play.

In the fourth quarter, the Monarchs started to close the lead once again. After a foul with 5:23 to go in the fourth quarter, the Red Wolves continued to extend their lead.

Old Dominion came into Jonesboro with a record of 15-5 and 4th place in the Sun Belt Conference. The Monarchs were the favorites to beat the Red Wolves.

Point guard Izzy Higginbottom led the Red Wolves in scoring, getting 33 points. She also led the team in assists with eight and went 19-20 from the free throw line. Higginbottom was also awarded the SBC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Award. 

Guard Anna Griffin scored 21 points, the second most for the team. Griffin also did well from the free throw line, going 7-9.

Guard Wynter Rogers and forward Kendra Gillispie led the Red Wolves in rebounds, each getting eight.

The Red Wolves women’s team improved their record to 12-9 with the win over Old Dominion.

The women’s team will travel to Atlanta with a chance to move up in the conference rankings if they win against SBC foe Georgia State (13-8) Wednesday.

Categories: Sports