Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – Arkansas State men’s basketball converted a season-best 36 free throws and overcame a late deficit to take down Southern Miss in an 89-84 decision on Tuesday night inside First National Bank Arena.
With the win, A-State secured 10 home wins in a season for the fifth consecutive time. Five consecutive seasons with 10-plus home wins is a feat that has only been achieved three other times in program history.
Jalen Hampton led the team with 17 points and 13 rebounds, securing his seventh double-double of the season. Joey Chammaa (15), Christian Harmon (14), Chandler Jackson (11), and Matt Hayman (11) joined the senior in double figures on the scoreboard.
Chammaa became the second player in the country to score 15-plus points without registering a field goal in the contest. The Los Angeles native is one of nine players in NCAA Division I history to achieve the feat, and joins Kam Sanders of Air Force as the only players to do it in 2025-26.
As a team, the Red Wolves shot 24-for-60 (40 percent) from the field, including 5-for-20 (25 percent) from three-point range, and 36-for-46 (78.3 percent) from the free throw line. A-State outscored the Golden Eagles 27-14 off second chances and 30-12 off the bench.
The Red Wolves quickly erased a 6-0 deficit by scoring 10 of the next 12 points, including three free throws from Harmon to force a lead change. The Red Wolves claimed a five-point advantage at the 12:56 mark, but a free throw followed by a driving layup on the other end closed the gap to a single point.
Five free throws pushed A-State ahead 24-18, but a quick 5-0 run from the Golden Eagles had the former ahead by a point once again. Aly Tounkara ended the stretch with a layup while Chammaa landed his fifth and sixth free throws to create space.
Southern Miss matched the scores, but Hayman’s layup preceded six consecutive free throws that allowed the Scarlet and Black to hold a 36-27 advantage with 5:34 to go. Both sides evenly split the next 12 points scored before the opposition broke the exchange with back-to-back layups.
The Golden Eagles could only cut the lead to four points in the final two minutes of play, but A-State ended the half with a three-pointer from Jaxon Ellingsworth plus two free throws from TJ Caldwell. The Red Wolves shot 24-for-27 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes and held a 53-44 lead at intermission.
The opposition netted three of the first four field goals of the second half to make it a one-possession ballgame, but Hampton scored five of the next seven points and widened the margin to six. A 69-63 advantage at the 10:09 mark quickly evaporated due to a three-pointer and a three-point play on the other end.
The lead changed hands on a layup with 7:01 to go and created a 73-71 deficit, but Harmon countered with a three-pointer to recapture the advantage. Back-to-back scores from Southern Miss put A-State behind by three points before Hampton tied it with a three-point play, but another pair of baskets for the opposition resulted in an 81-77 score with three minutes on the clock.
A 6-2 run capped with a tip-in layup from Tounkara tied the game at 83-83 with 1:48 remaining in the contest. An alley-oop from Jackson to Hampton broke the stalemate, and a defensive stop gave A-State possession.
Jackson missed a floater in the paint, but the ball found its way to Caldwell with 24 seconds left. A flagrant foul gave the Golden Eagles two free throws, but both would be missed while Harmon connected on both to make the score 87-83 with 16 seconds.
Both sides added one free throw to their total before Southern Miss’ final offensive possession, which resulted in a missed three-pointer and a defensive rebound for Jackson. The guard converted one-of-two shots from the charity stripe to create a five-point cushion and secure the win.
A-State concludes the 2025-26 regular season against Louisiana on Friday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The matchup inside First National Bank Arena will be broadcast on ESPN+, and the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and the Red Wolves mobile app.