Ford and El-Shiekh combine for 50 points, A-State uses second-half run to beat Little Rock | Daily News Byte

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – Arkansas State men’s basketball (8-5) outscored Little Rock (4-9) 46-36 in the second half, including a 17-3 run to take its first lead of the game, to win 77-75 at First National Bank Arena Thursday afternoon.

The Red Wolves got 18 offensive rebounds, 10 from Omar El-Shiekh, and 22 second-chance points in the win. El-Shiekh finished with 25 points, becoming the first player in NCAA Division I to record 25 points and 10 offensive rebounds in the same game this season.

El-Shiekh and Terrance Ford were the only two from A-State in double figures. Ford had a career-high 25 points, 16 of which came in the second half, to go along with five assists and four rebounds.

A-State trailed by as many as 13 points, 55-42, in the second half. The Red Wolves went on a 17-3 run, capped by back-to-back threes from Caleb Fields and Avery Felts. Little Rock had one last run left in them, regaining the lead to go up 73-66 with less than three minutes to play. Ken Pomeroy’s projections only gave A-State a 9 percent chance of winning at that point.

But the Red Wolves answered. Ford had a three-point play and Felts hit a three to cut the Trojan lead to one.

The Trojans turned the ball over twice with a chance to increase their lead, Markise Davis played tough defense on a shot by Myron Gardner with less than a minute to play. Davis then hit two free throws to give the Red Wolves a lead of one.

With 34 seconds to play, Jordan Jefferson hit a clutch shot as Little Rock regained the one-point edge, but Ford picked up Jefferson’s fifth foul and hit two free throws to give A-State the lead for good. The Trojans fouled 24 times and had three players fouled out, the Red Wolves shot 15-28 from the charity stripe.

The Red Wolves shot 56 percent from the field and turned the ball over just three times in the second half.

It’s now a season-high three-game winning streak for Arkansas State, which opens Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday, December 29 at Old Dominion at 6:00 PM. The Red Wolves will return to First National Bank Arena on New Year’s Eve to face ULM at 2:00 PM.

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