Arkansas State men’s basketball wins home opener, starts 3-1

Arkansas State men’s basketball (3-1, 0-0 SBC) overcame an early deficit and upped their winning streak in home openers to 11 games on Saturday night inside First National Bank Arena, defeating Christian Brothers in a 95-67 decision.

Jaxon Ellingsworth shot 9-for-10 (90 percent) from the floor in a 20-point performance to lead the team. Matt Hayman (15), Royal Blue Smith (13), TJ Caldwell (13), and Chudi Dioramma (12) also surpassed double digits in the contest.

As a team, the Red Wolves shot 39-for-68 (57.4 percent) from the floor and 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from the free-throw line.

The Red Wolves scored 14 of the next 18 points after the 14:12 mark in the first half, regaining the lead on two free throws from Fredy-Salam Sylla before Aly Tounkara contributed three points to establish a 24-19 advantage. The Red Wolves offense continued to surge as Ellingsworth extended the lead to double digits with a layup at the 5:29 mark.

Both sides evenly exchanged the next eight points before A-State capped the final three minutes of action on a 9-2 run that ended on Ellingsworth’s first three-pointer. As a team, the Scarlet and Black posted a 20-for-36 (55.6) mark from the field and outrebounded the opposition 20-13 to take a 45-28 lead into intermission.

Caldwell scored the Red Wolves’ first four points of the second half while a dunk from Ellingsworth extended the lead to 20 points with 18:14 on the clock. Christian Brothers netted six of the next seven points on a pair of triples, but A-State nullified the effort with two free throws and a three-pointer of their own.

Matt Hayman converted his second three-point basket of the contest with 11:46 to go and extended the lead to its largest margin via a 69-40 score. A 9-0 run spanning 2:18 closed the gap to 20, but the Red Wolves outscored the Buccaneers 11-8 over the next 4:18 and stalled their momentum.

Hayman landed his third and final three-pointer of the evening while Ellingsworth added seven points to help A-State gain a 90-65 advantage. The Red Wolves ended the contest on a 5-0 run, as Blue delivered a triple with 34 seconds remaining to conclude all scoring for the night.

NEXT UP

A-State faces Saint Mary’s on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 9:00p.m. (CT) inside University Credit Union Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, while the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.

SOCIAL MEDIAFor the latest on the A-State men’s basketball program, follow @AStateMB on Twitter/X and @astatemb on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateMB.

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