PHOTO COURTESY OF A-STATE ATHLETICS

In a game the Red Wolves were highly favored to win, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team lost their third game of the last five, dropping the Red Wolves to a 5-4 record in Sun Belt conference play and 13-8 overall.

After a won jump ball and the first points of the game scored by forward Aly Tounkara, Georgia State scored their only points in the first four minutes of play with a three from guard Jelani Hamilton, who ended the night with 38 points and four steals.

The first four minutes of the game was all Red Wolves, specifically the H guys. Guards Matt Hayman, Christian Harmon and Jalen Hampton together scored 16 points before the Panthers could respond. 

Hampton scored a layup to make it 20-5 but a bad pass turnover would mark the turn of the tide for the game. Turnovers contributed heavily to the Red Wolves’ loss as they struggled on ball security throughout the game. A-State doubled the amount of turnovers that Georgia State had, 14-7.

From that point, it took 10 minutes before the Panthers could catch up to the Red Wolves with a three from Hamilton, tying the game 31-28 near the end of the first half.

It was a back-and-forth battle from there until the half, trading leads, until the Panthers kept their lead as the Red Wolves went down by five and Harmon made a three with 22 seconds left, trailing 38-36 at intermission. 

The second half of the game was very physical on both sides of the ball, leading to a lot of trips to the line for free throw attempts. 

Georgia State had more free throw attempts and a higher percentage of made free throws compared to the Red Wolves. Georgia State was 20 for 22 of free throws, whereas the Red Wolves were 17-19. While not a large variation, it was a difference maker in the game’s outcome. 

Missed points and passes hurt the Red Wolves as well, forward Jaxon Ellingsworth fell prey to both of those mistakes throughout his 14 minutes of play. In an off game for Ellingsworth, he only recorded two points and had a 20 field goal percentage, night and day from his 13 point game against Georgia Southern with a perfect field goal percentage. 

For A-State as a whole, the team was 28 for 57 from the paint during their game against Georgia State while the home team was 25 for 53. 

As rough as the second half was, the Red Wolves kept the game close, the Panthers’ largest lead being only 5 points. 

With 11 seconds to go, the Panthers coming off two made free throws that created a four point lead, Chandler Jackson got down the court and made a three pointer with two seconds and a single timeout left.

Jackson’s three was one of the few scored threes by the Red Wolves, going 8 for 24 behind the line while the Panthers were 12 for 27. 

Even though A-State manages to steal the ball from Georgia State, the walkoff three is missed and a game that the Red Wolves are expected to win by five is lost by one. 

It wasn’t all a sour loss, however, as Jaylen Hampton got another double-double game, scoring 10 points and recording 12 rebounds. Hampton recorded a double-double the previous game against Georgia Southern with 10 points and 14 rebounds. 

A-State as a team had 38 total throughout the game whereas Georgia State had 21, marking one of the few highlights of their team play.

After another heartbreaking loss on the road, the Red Wolves are back at home Wednesday as they play the Old Dominion Monarchs at 7 p.m. in First National Bank Arena.

Categories: Sports