JONESBORO, Ark. (12/12/24) – Taryn Todd’s A season-best performance and a second-half surge gave the Arkansas State men’s basketball team an 83-79 victory over UT Arlington on Thursday night at First National Bank Arena.

The Red Wolves (8-3) trailed at halftime but outscored the Mavericks (4-6) 48-40 in the final 20 minutes to remain undefeated at home this season. Todd led the way with 23 points and a career-best eight rebounds, while also dishing out four assists without committing a turnover.

Joseph Pinion scored in double figures for the second straight year with 16 points to go, along with three steals and two blocks, a career-best. Kobe Julien added 14 points, 10 of which came on 11 attempts for the charity. The preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year was also a force on the glass, grabbing seven rebounds and helping A-State outrebound UTA 36-33. Rashaud Marshall was the fourth Red Wolf to reach double figures and scored 10 points.

A-State shot 40.4 percent (23-57) in the game, including a 52.2 percent mark in the second half (12-23), while shooting a season-high 31 of 42 at the free throw line for a 73 .8 percent mark. UTA was 28 of 49 (47.5 percent) from the field and 14 of 30 (46.7 percent) from 3-point range, but managed just 9 of 21 at the foul line.

UTA had four scorers in double figures, led by Jaden Wells with 19 points. Diante Smith added 15 off the bench, while Lance Ware and Raysean Seamster had 11 and 10, respectively.

The Mavericks took an early 5-0 lead before A-State got into the game with a Todd trey at 17:39. A Marshall putback gave the Scarlet and Black their first lead of the night at 9-8 before UTA extended an eight-point lead on a three-pointer from Seamster that made the score 24-16.

A seven-point swing brought the Red Wolves back to within one point, and then a Pinion three-pointer put A-State back ahead 35-34 with 1:33 left in the half. UTA responded with five points and finished the first 20 minutes with a 39-35 lead.

The visitors maintained a one-point lead until Todd scored with 13:57 to play to put A-State up 50-48. Three free throws over Derrian Ford made it 57-52 before a 6-0 lead put UTA back ahead 58-57 with 10:40 left. Izaiyah Nelson scored on an inside goal to put the Red Wolves back in the lead, sparking a 15-0 run that included a thunderous Todd dunk that made the score 72-58 with 6:06 left.

UTA pulled away by single digits with less than four minutes to play, but A-State continued to capitalize on its foul shooting opportunities, with all 11 points coming on the charity stripe in the final six minutes. Darius Burford and Wells scored late three-pointers to make it a two-point game, but were unable to erase the deficit.

Next

Next up is A-State’s final pre-conference test, taking on American Athletic Conference favorite UAB on Sunday. Kickoff against the Blazers at Bartow Arena is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+, while the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.

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