Photo by Abigail Leggett | Staff Photographer

In what was the third win in four games for Arkansas State, the Red Wolves defeated the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Lumberjacks in a rough defensive struggle at First National Bank Arena.

The Red Wolves struggled to find their footing early in the game. A-State fans found themselves standing for quite a while, as the Red Wolves did not score for the first four minutes of the first half, by which point the Lumberjacks had taken a 5-0 lead. But a free throw from forward Rashaud Marshall and a successful 3 from forward Kobe Julien quickly turned the tide.

The Red Wolves eventually took the lead over SFA with 9:44 left in the first half after forward Justin Johnson made a pair of free throws.

Defense and turnovers were the biggest factor of the game for both sides. SFA committed 16 turnovers, with Lumberjacks’ forward Chrishawn Christmas living up to his name,  gifting the Red Wolves four turnovers by himself. A-State committed 11 turnovers but won the battle on the defensive side of the ball. Kobe Julien, who had a huge amount of steals against Little Rock, recorded a pair of massive solo blocks and assisted on two more in this game, as well as getting 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Julien won his second consecutive Hard Hat Player award for his defensive efforts.

Photo by Abigail Leggett | Staff Photographer

Photo by Abigail Leggett | Staff Photographer

“I talked to the guys for the past three days about just how physical they play, and that’s what they hang their hat on,” head coach Brian Hodgson said. “Their game plan to win a basketball game is ‘We’re going to punk you, we’re going to be a more physical team, and we’re going to pound the ball in the post.’”

Guard Taryn Todd was the leading scorer for the game, and he was deadly from behind the three point line. Todd ended the game shooting 4-5 from three, 7-12 from the field, racking up 21 points and 3 steals and leading the team with 4 assists.

“I feel like it started on the defensive end,” Todd said. “We know what type of firepower we have on offense, it’s just about the defense to get the win.”

Forward Rashaud Marshall started the game at center, and he tied for the team lead in rebounds with nine. Marshall also  went 3-6 from the free throw line, which was one of the team’s best free throw percentages.

“That’s really my main job for real,” Marshall said. “Rebounding and getting those second-chance boards for my team and to help my team win.”

Both teams struggled from the free throw line. The Red Wolves only made 13 of their 28 free throw attempts and SFA was only marginally better, making 12 of 21.

“For the Johnny Ball Coaches out there, just so I don’t get this in my email and on Twitter(X): yes, we shoot free throws in practice,” Hodgson said. “Yes, we shoot pressure free throws every day. Yes, we know we’re a bad free throw shooting team right now, and we are going to get it fixed. So save the emails, save the tweets, we’re getting it fixed.”

The Red Wolves will play at home against a Division II team, the Lane College Dragons on Friday, Nov. 29. Afterwards, they will travel to the Bahamas to play in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship, where the Red Wolves will take on the Indiana State Sycamores, Rice Owls and Hofstra Pride. 

A-State is favored in all three games. 

Categories: Sports