Forward Kobe Julien drives towards the basket.

Photo by Ibuki Hinohara | Staff Photographer

Arkansas State men’s basketball played Division II Trevecca Nazarene at home for their annual exhibition game. For Arkansas State, this exhibition game gives players an opportunity to warm up for the season and start to build fan interest.

A-State Head Coach Bryan Hodgson and his team looked to build continuity and momentum for the upcoming season. 

Guard Derrian Ford led the way with 21 points on 9-14 shooting in 33 minutes. 

Guard Taryn Todd added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists on the day, while forward Kobe Julien tacked on 13 points. 

The Red Wolves shot only 41% from the field and 84% from the foul line. 

The Red Wolves struggled in the first half just to find a rhythm offensively. 

“It was not a great effort,”  Hodgson said. “We did not play well on either side of the ball.”

Trevecca Nazarene got off to a fast start in the first half leading by as much as 14. The Red Wolves shot 31 percent (2-15) from three in the first half. Forward Kobe Julien led the red wolves on a  9-0 to cut to 5 with 6:07 left in the half. They forced A-State into multiple turnovers and were able to find plenty of success offensively. 

With two minutes left in the half, guard Derrian Ford made a huge bucket to cap off a 10-0 run by the Scarlet and black tying the game at 30. The Trojans fought back with a 7-0 run to take a 37-30 lead at the half. 

“We are still not even close to our standard. I had made a decision coming into the game that I was going to give everybody available a shot,” Hodgson said. “That was advantageous to us at times but I was willing to die on that hill to see some guys out there in live action and you saw it, it didn’t go great.”

The Red Wolves cut into the seven-point deficit in the second half, but The Trojans pushed their lead back to 6 with 15 minutes left in the game. The Red Wolves fought back with another 7-0 run to take a 49-48 lead; they never looked back and kept the lead for the remainder of the game. 

A-State was able to force 22 turnovers and they had 12 steals. 

“We knew that Trevecca was going to be a good exhibition for us. If you check into our schedule you see we don’t do anything for an easy win. What they do offensively is extremely challenging. Planning for them offensively, just schematically, would be one of the hardest scouts in the Sun Belt,”  Hodgson said.

Guard Zane Butler maneuvers around a Trojans defender

Photo by Ibuki Hinohara | Staff Photographer

Trevecca won the rebound battle 36-33.  They were able to create a lot of A-state turnovers, and they found a lot of success offensively. 

Second chance points were huge for the Trojans. 

The Red Wolves played without starting center Izaiyah Nelson, who is recovering from a foot injury. 

Freshman forward Josh Hill was his replacement, but he struggled to rebound and find his rhythm on offense. 

The Red Wolves were also without Terrance Ford due to injury,  and Rashad Marshall, who Hodgson said was out for “family reasons.”

“We weren’t playing to our standards in transition, we weren’t playing to our standards in the half court. We had seven assists in the game, which is horrific. We got out-rebounded which was a major issue. So we have got a ton of stuff to clean up before we host Akron,” Hodgson said.

The Red Wolves will host their first game at home Nov. 4 vs Akron.

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