The Arkansas State men’s basketball team kept it close against another Sun Belt title hopeful, but ultimately left enemy territory empty-handed, losing in overtime to the South Alabama Jaguars 91-87. 

Turnovers and a stagnant offense spelled out A-State’s fate in the late stretch of the game on Thursday. However, it was a fight until the final buzzer that defined this heartbreaker for the Red Wolves. 

From the start, the Jaguars were protecting their home court as if their lives depended on it, keeping the Red Wolves from making any headway into the interior. They were able to continuously make stops on the perimeter to prevent drives to the basket while forcing turnovers, totaling up a whopping 19 lost balls by the Red Wolves.

When they were stopped dead in their tracks from driving to the basket, the Red Wolves made use of their three-point sharpshooters. They shot 6 of 19 from beyond the arc in the first half, while they were 9 of 13 on their successful attempts to invade the paint. Guard Royal Blue Smith helped lead the barrage from long range in the first half with a team high two made in the period, continuing his hot streak throughout the game to lead A-State with 18 points at the final buzzer.

While riding the hot hand can alter the course of a game, relying on shots from behind the arc turned out to be a liability for the Red Wolves. After the three-pointers stopped falling for a time during the first half, a Jaguars run turned a 10-6 lead into a 10-15 hole for A-State. This wouldn’t be the only time during this game that the offense would find itself at a stand-still. 

With some adjustments on the offensive end to get more looks at the interior, A-State was able to claw back at the half to grab a 36-32 lead. 

However, coming back out to the half, they fell into the same habits and found themselves on the wrong end of a scoring run. This time, it ended up being the largest of the game with 13 unanswered points scored thanks to turnovers and failed attacks at the rim.

Luckily, the bounce back from this stagnant stretch of offense was much greater than the last. Smith once again caught fire and made four more three-pointers this half, totaling six shots from long range in the game. 

One of the unsung heroes of the second half was forward Jaxon Ellingsworth, who ended the game with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. It was his work on the offensive glass that gave more of a green light for the guards on the wing to shoot, nabbing six second-chance rebounds in the game to give the Red Wolves an extra opportunity to score. 

After the rough start to the second half, the Red Wolves evened the score and kept fighting to retake the lead. The game had been close from the start, but the true action of the game started during the last few minutes of regulation. 

With the help of Smith’s scoring and Ellingsworth’s work on the glass, the Red Wolves tried to pull away. For every shot they made, however, Jaguars guard Chaze Harris was right there to make sure it stayed even with a basket of his own. He was a monster in the second half, scoring 27 of his 38 points in this period alone. 

As the clock ticked down, the Red Wolves had a three point advantage after a successful trip to the free-throw line. The Jaguars pushed the ball up the court as the shot clock turned off, marking their final possession in regulation. Harris made his attempt from beyond the arc to send the game into overtime, but ultimately fell short. 

After falling prey to Ellingsworth on the glass multiple times in the half already, the home team had enough and nabbed one of their own, dishing it out to forward Adam Olsen, who drained his three point attempt with one second left in regulation. Guard Matt Hayman’s last-second heave almost went down to break the 81-81 tie for the win, but the ball rimmed out, extending the showdown. 

While the Red Wolves went out of the second half on a positive note, it didn’t carry over into the final period of overtime. Ellingsworth continued his rebounding and carved his path into the Jaguars’ interior defense, but the struggles on offense came back to bite the visitors in the end. 

Smith went 0-3 on his attempts in overtime and other than two baskets from Ellingsworth, guard Chandler Jackson, who ended with six points and six rebounds, had the only other field goal in crunch time. Meanwhile, Harris continued his rampage for the Jaguars, scoring the only field goals of overtime for South Alabama while his teammates put in their work at the free-throw line to back him up.

 After being caught in the same situation as had happened twice in regulation, the Red Wolves couldn’t overcome another period of drought on offense. They ended up losing the lead halfway through overtime and never found themselves in a position to snatch the advantage back. 

A pair of free throws to make a two-possession lead was the final dagger to end A-State’s hopes, leaving the final score at 91-87. Their attempt to steal the win on the Jaguars’ home court came to a close on a heartbreaker ending. 

After putting together a two-win streak following a loss to James Madison University, the Red Wolves find themselves at a reset once again after their loss Thursday, hoping to pick up the pieces and start anew against Sun Belt rival Troy on Saturday, January 17.

Categories: Sports