Jonesboro, AR – (Contributed) – January 17, 2025 – A fast start and tone-setting defense combined for a dominant victory by the Arkansas State men’s basketball team Thursday night, topping Louisiana 83-63 inside First National Bank Arena.
A-State (13-5, 4-2 SBC) scored the game’s first seven points and never looked back, holding the Ragin’ Cajuns (5-13, 3-3) to just 35.3 percent from the field – including a 23.5-percent clip in the first half. The Red Wolves continued to hold serve on the home floor, improving to 8-0 this season at home and extending their home winning streak to 11 games – the longest since an 11-game stretch in 2016-17.
The Red Wolves shot 44.3 percent (27-61) from the field and went 22-for-31 at the free-throw line, while having four double-digit scorers led by Kobe Julien’s 15 points. Julien also grabbed eight rebounds – one of three players with eight boards to help A-State edge UL 45-42 on the glass.
Joseph Pinion added 13 points and eight rebounds with a career-high five assists, while Terrance Ford Jr. scored 13 with six dimes. Taryn Todd, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career on the game’s first basket, scored 12 points with eight rebounds.
Todd sparked the Scarlet and Black’s game-opening 7-0 spurt with a trey that was also his 1,000th point. A-State’s lead moved to double digits on back-to-back scores by Rashaud Marshall, and a Pinion dunk later made it a 25-10 game, forcing an early Cajun timeout. Julien capped an 8-2 run that gave the hosts their largest lead of the half, up 38-19 with 6:50 remaining in the period.
After Louisiana went on a 5-0 run to cut it back to 14, A-State closed the half on a 6-0 swing to take a commanding 44-24 lead into the break.
The Red Wolves weathered a slow start offensively after intermission, as the Cajuns pulled back within 13 within the first eight minutes of the half. Todd drilled a trey with 11:53 left to spark an 8-0 run, which pushed A-State’s lead back out to 21 at 60-39 with just over 10 minutes to play.
A-State’s advantage ballooned to as much as 26 when a Ford Jr. layup made it 69-43 with 7:07 to play, and then the Red Wolves maintained the lead, closing the win on a 7-2 run on scores by Zane Butler, Jacob St. Clair and Justin Johnson.
NEXT UP
The Red Wolves continue their home stretch Saturday, hosting Georgia State in the second half of a women’s-men’s basketball doubleheader inside First National Bank Arena. Tip-off against the Panthers is slated for no earlier than 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+, following the conclusion of the women’s contest versus ULM.