Finn sparks run, ASU gets past Austin Peay

Monday, December 17, 2012

— Arkansas State guard Trey Finn carries the reputation as the Red Wolves best perimeter shooter.

On Sunday, the senior made back-to-back three-pointers to key an 18-5 run that helped ASU to a 69-57 victory against Austin Peay in front of 2,652 at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.

Finn, who paced ASU with 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting, drew the Red Wolves even 42-42 with his first three-pointer at 11:18 in the second half.

He then put the Red Wolves (6-3) ahead 45-42 with another three-pointer on the ensuing trip after rebounding a missed layup by Austin Peay guard Chris Horton.

The Governors (4-6) hung in striking distance when guard Travis Beltran, who led Austin Peay with 21 points, hit a jumper at 6:57 to cut the lead 53-47.

ASU guard Cameron Golden split a pair of free throws on the next possession for a 54-47 lead, and after a three minute cold stretch for both teams, drove for a layup to make it 57-47 with 4:12 left to play to cap the run.

The Red Wolves made the run after hanging close, trailing 29-24 at halftime, and preventing the Governors from stretching the lead beyond 35-28 after Anthony Campbell’s three-pointer two minutes into the second half.

ASU pulled out the victory despite shooting 38.5 percent (25 of 65) from the floor. The Red Wolves forced 28 turnovers to help make up for their shooting woes and scored 23 points off those turnovers. ASU committed only 12 turnovers and Austin Peay had only eight points off of those.

Raeford Worsham had 12 points, and Brandon Peterson had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals for the Red Wolves (6-3).

Austin Peay shot 50 percent, including 7 of 12 from behind the three-point line.

Chris Horton scored 10 points and had 13 rebounds.. Anthony Campbell, who was 3 of 4 from 3-point range, scored 14 points.

MURRAY STATE 75, W. KENTUCKY 70

MURRAY, Ky. - Isaiah Canaan had21 points and five assists to lead Murray State to its fifth consecutive victory.

Canaan scored eight of his points during a 14-2 run by the Racers (8-1) that turned a 54-52 deficit with 7:17 remaining into a 66-56 advantage at the 3:34 mark.

The Hilltoppers (8-3), who had won six in a row, cut their deficit to 68-64 with 1:54 left after two consecutive three-pointers by Brandon Harris, who led them with a career-high 23 points after coming in averaging 4.2.

A layup by Dexter Fields pushed Murray State’s lead back to six, 70-64, and the Racers hit five free throws in the final minute, three by Canaan, to secure the victory.

Ed Daniel added 16 points, Fields 14 and Stacy Wilson 13 for Murray State.

Teeng Akol scored 14 points and George Fant 10 for Western Kentucky.

NORTH TEXAS 45, SE LOUISIANA 40

DENTON, Texas- Roger Franklin scored 12 points to lead North Texas to a slim victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday.

Alzee Williams added 11 points, and Tony Mitchell pulled down 10 rebounds and scored eight points for the Mean Green (4-6).

North Texas led 19-18 at halftime in a game with six lead changes. The Mean Green’s largest lead was nine with 2:19 to play in the game. North Texas had 16 points off Southeastern Louisiana turnovers.

Brandon Fortenberry had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions (1-7).

The Mean Green made 18 of 61 attempts (29.5 percent) from the field for the game. The Lions made 14 of 56 (25 percent).

In 1963, the Mean Green beat Air Force 37-36 for the fewest points scored in a North Texas victory.

SOUTH ALABAMA 74, TEXAS A&M-CC 69

MOBILE, Ala. - Augustine Rubit scored 23 points and had a career-high 19 rebounds to help South Alabama snap a two-game losing streak.

Xavier Roberson added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Viktor Juricek came off the bench to score 10 for the Jaguars (5-5), who shot 40 percent (6 of 15) from three-point range.

South Alabama out rebounded the Islanders 45-29 on the strength of 17 offensive rebounds.

Sports, Pages 20 on 12/17/2012