JONESBORO - John Brady has been waiting patiently for his Arkansas State men’s basketball team to defend all season.
He finally saw what he’s been looking for Saturday night.
ASU mauled and frustrated Will Neighbour while holding in-state rival UALR to 24.1 percent shooting and a season-low points total in a 77-49 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 5,631 at the Convocation Center.
With UALR forward James White out with a high-ankle sprain, the Red Wolves turned their attention to Neighbour, who was averaging 18 points a game going into Saturday. Kendrick Washington and Kirk Van Slyke regularly doubled Neighbour in the post and held the senior forward to a career-low 1 point on 0-for-12 shooting.
It was the key piece in an overall defensive effort that helped ASU build a 10-point advantage less than seven minutes into the game and lead by at least 20 points for much of the second half while holding a 52-39 rebounding edge.
“We were involved defensively, we were alert, we were up the line,” Brady said. “We had some intensity about us, and we sustained it for extended periods of time. We bothered them. We took them out of what they really wanted to do.
“We showed tonight that we can defend.”
Melvin Johnson III led ASU (11-7, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference) with 21 points, making 3 of 6 three-pointers, while Washington had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Van Slyke was only 3 of 12 from the floor but made 9 of 10 free throws and finished with 15 points.
Still, the biggest contribution by Washington and Van Slyke was how they held Neighbour to one of the worst games of his career.
“They did a good job crowding him,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said.
Neighbour’s only point came on a free throw with 8:15 left in the first half and cut ASU’s lead to 22-12. He was 0 for 7 as ASU took a 38-24 lead into halftime and sat out the final four minutes of the game as ASU rolled to a second consecutive blowout over its rival at the Convocation Center. The Red Wolves beat the Trojans 86-62 last year in Jonesboro.
Brady said ASU took Neighbour’s spirit away and that it didn’t look like he had much fight left in him over the final 10 minutes of the game.
“It was basically, put a big body on him,” Van Slyke said. “Make him a passer, not a shooter, and Kendrick did a hell of a job.”
ASU jumped out to a 15-5 lead after Johnson’s layup on a fast break, which prompted a UALR timeout. The Trojans (10-10, 5-3) were within 34-24 with 2:19 left before halftime, but Van Slyke made two free throws and Ed Townsel stole a pass and coasted in for a layup that made it 38-24 at halftime.
Johnson started the second half with consecutive three-pointers that made it 44-24 with 18:39 left, and ASU’s lead was at least 16 points the rest of the game.
“You always look at the end of the half and the start of the second half as important four minutes of game time,” Shields said.
Gus Leeper started for the first time since an NCAA Tournament loss to North Carolina-Asheville in 2011 and scored 10 points while Ben Dillard and Leroy Isler added nine points each. That wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the loss of White, who averages 11.4 points, and the job ASU did on Neighbour.
ASU lost close games last week in double overtime at Western Kentucky and at Georgia State - giving up 82 and 72 points, respectively - and it entered Saturday giving up an average of more than 74 points per game.
In other Sun Belt men’s games, Ryan Harrow scored 18 points and Devonta White added 17 to lead visiting Georgia State to a school record 11th consecutive victory with a come-from-behind, 66-58 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. Harrow was 7 of 15 from the field. White finished 4 of 8 from the field and made nine of his 10 free throw attempts. Curtis Washington grabbed 11 rebounds for Georgia State. Tylor Ongwae tied a career-high with 27 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Louisiana-Monroe. ... Emani Gant scored 21 points to lead host Texas State over Troy 73-65. Joel Wright scored 16 points with 12 rebounds and Phil Hawkins added 14 points. Westley Hinton led Troy with 24 points. ... George Fant scored 25 points as Western Kentucky defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 79-70. Western Kentucky (13-7, 5-2) got 18 points from Chris Harrison-Docks and Trency Jackson scored 17. Elfrid Payton led Louisiana-Lafayette (12-8, 3-4) with 16 points. Shawn Long had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks while Bryant Mbamalu had 13 points. ... Reger Dowell scored 21 points and Brandon Edwards added 17 with 11 rebounds as host Texas-Arlington defeated South Alabama 73-65.
SWAC MEN PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 71, ARK.-PINE BLUFF 62
Montrael Scott scored 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Prairie View A&M (6-12, 4-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) to a victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-14, 2-4) in PrairieView, Texas.
The Golden Lions have lost four consecutive after a 2-0 conference start.
Louis Munks had 15 points for the Panthers. Jules Montgomery and Demondre Chapman added 12 each.
Tied at 15-15 with 13:18 left in the first half, Prairie View went on a 25-14 run and led 40-29 at halftime.
The Panthers maintained a lead of 10 or more points throughout most of the second half with the Golden Lions coming as close as five with just more than a minute to play. Two three-pointers in the final minute, one by Munks and one by Montgomery, put away the game.
Marcel Mosley led the Golden Lions with 19 points.
SWAC WOMEN PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 75, ARK.-PINE BLUFF 62
Jeanette Jackson scored 21 points and Prairie View A&M (3-13, 3-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-15, 0-6) in Prairie View, Texas.
UAPB has lost 15 consecutive games and remains the only winless team in the SWAC.
The Panthers led 68-62 when UAPB guard Christina Lasane turned it over. Lasane’s miscue led to Jackson’s three-pointer that extended Prairie View’s lead to 71-62 with 1:52 remaining.
LeReahn Washington had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers.
Lasane led the Lady Lions with 21 points. Charissa Carr scored 16 points and Mollie Campbell 14 points.
Sports, Pages 21 on 01/26/2014