LITTLE ROCK — Trey Finn scored 23 points, including six three-pointers, to lead Arkansas State to a 67-49 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
Ed Townsel had 11 points, and Brandon Peterson and Kendrick Washington added nine points each for the Red Wolves (15-9, 9-6 Sun Belt Conference).
ASU swept the season series with Western Kentucky. It won the first meeting 75-61 on Jan. 5 in Jonesboro.
“This is as close to a complete game as we’ve played all season,” ASU Coach John Brady said. “It was a great road win for us and I’m so proud of my team. We shot the ball well, made timely baskets, and our defense was really good.
“If our team plays like this, we can win them all.”
Townsel’s three-pointer gave ASU a 15-4 lead with 12:25 remaining in the first half, forcing Western Kentucky to call a timeout.
Finn hit a three-pointer to extend the Red Wolves’ lead to 30-19 with 2:07 remaining in the half. The Hilltoppers scored the final six points of the half to pull within 30-25 at halftime.
Western Kentucky cut the lead to 55-47 with 6:40 left, but the Red Wolves pushed it to 62-47 on a three-pointer by Finn and a jumper from Peterson.
Finn’s sixth three-pointer of the game made it 66-49 with 1:28 remaining.
ASU extended its lead to 41-29 with 14:12 left on Washington’s layup.
T.J. Price led Western Kentucky (13-11, 7-7) with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting. No other Hilltopper player scored more than 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 93, TROY 41
Raymond Cintron scored 20 points and led Middle Tennessee’s 64.4 percent shooting effort in a rout of Troy in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The victory margin was the largest for the Blue Raiders (22-4, 14-1 Sun Belt Conference) since Nov. 17, 2001, when they defeated Bryan College by 56 points, 115-59. They also won their 11th consecutive game and are 14-0 at home.
Emil Jones scored 16 points for the Trojans (10-15, 5-9), who had their lowest point total and suffered their most lopsided loss this season.
SATURDAY’S GAMES Arkansas State 67, W. Kentucky 49 Middle Tennessee 93, Troy 41 North Texas 77, Fla. International 67 South Alabama 72, Florida Atlantic 71
SUN BELT WOMEN
ARKANSAS STATE 78, WESTERN KENTUCKY 74
The Arkansas State women’s basketball team picked up a pivotal victory in its quest to win the Sun Belt Conference West Division title with a victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
ASU (13-11, 10-5) trailed 74-73 with 36 seconds left, but junior forward Jane Morrill gave the Red Wolves the lead for good on a three-point play with 18 seconds remaining. Morrill took a pass from senior point guard Ashley Olvera, made the layup and drew the foul. She hit the free throw to give ASU a 76-74 lead.
On the ensuing offensive possession by the Lady Hilltoppers (17-6, 10-4), Morrill stole the ball from Bianca McGee and was fouled with four seconds to go. She made both free throws to give the Red Wolves a 78-74 lead. Western Kentucky then failed to get a shot off before time expired.
The Red Wolves were coming off a 94-49 loss at Middle Tennessee on Wednesday.
ASU is in first place in the Sun Belt’s West Division, just ahead of UALR, which it hosts next Wednesday.
Morrill led ASU with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. She also made 3 of 3 free throws, all coming in the final 20 seconds. Freshman forward Jalen O’Bannon added 20 points, while sophomore guard Hanna Qedan had 17 points, including 3 three-pointers.
SATURDAY’S GAMES Arkansas State 78, W. Kentucky 74 Fla. International 72, North Texas 63 Florida Atlantic 59, South Alabama 56
Sports, Pages 32 on 02/10/2013