JONESBORO -- Josh Hagins endured two painful losses on the home floor of an in-state rival the past two seasons.
The best night of his career ended UALR's Convocation Center frustrations Thursday night.
Hagins scored a career-high 28 points, 16 in the second half, to spark UALR to a 75-65 victory over Arkansas State in front of an announced crowd of 3,104. It marked UALR's first road victory this season and its first in Jonesboro in three years.
"We finally punched back," said Hagins, who made 10 of 13 shots. "We were more aggressive, we had more composure. We handled it with a lot of composure and we fought our way out of it."
UALR (8-12, 3-7), which also climbed out of last place in the Sun Belt standings, shot 52.2 percent in the second half to help turn a 38-37 halftime deficit into a victory as it led by at least seven points over the final 8 1/2 minutes.
Hagins' shooting -- 10 for 13 overall -- played a big part, but a defense that had been UALR's biggest shortcoming this season also frustrated ASU shooters Cameron Golden and Sean Gardner and forward Anthony Livingston with a second-half adjustment.
The Red Wolves (9-11, 4-7) jumped out to a 15-4 lead and shot 53.6 percent in the first half, but UALR Coach Steve Shields switched to a 1-3-1 defense for part of the second half.
ASU was held to 36.0 percent shooting in the second half, and Livingston was held to only four shots. The junior forward finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds but missed his final three shots from the floor after a 14-2 UALR run turned a 48-48 tie into a 62-50 lead with 7:34 left.
"I just felt like we had to do something different," Shields said of the zone. "All those guys, they get into such a good rhythm."
UALR snapped a string of six consecutive road losses mostly thanks to Hagins, who had managed only eight and 11 points in losses in Jonesboro the past two seasons. The junior guard made 2 of 3 three-pointers, 6 of 7 free throws and had 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
"Everything goes through him," ASU Coach John Brady said. "We know it. I knew it. Our players knew it. We had a plan to guard him. We just go wherever we go. We just let him run us all over the floor and control the whole game."
Golden, who had 17 points, and Gardner, who had 15, each made three-pointers as ASU jumped out to a 15-4 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Red Wolves also led 30-19 with 7:49 left and 33-23 on a dunk by Livingston with 5:39 left.
But UALR closed the half on a 14-5 run, a 5 1/2-minute stretch in which it made 5 of 8 shots and 3 of 5 free throws. Hagins' turnaround jumper from the baseline with 10 seconds left pulled UALR to within 38-37 going into halftime and gave UALR the momentum.
"I was proud of our guys, our resiliency, our togetherness," Shields said. "I thought the end of the half was very important for us."
UALR carried that over to the second half. It took its first lead during a 9-5 run to open the half, and it 46-43 after Hagins' driving layup with 15:34 left.
ASU punched back a couple of times. Kelvin Downs' dunk cut UALR's lead to 46-45 and ASU tied it up twice, the last time on Nouhoum Boucom's basket inside with 10:18 that made it 50-50. But Gus Leeper made two free throws on the next possession and UALR scored the next 12 points as its zone defense created turnovers and easy baskets for Hagins, J.T. Thomas and James Reid.
Hagins capped the run with a 25-foot three-pointer from the wing near his team's bench, giving UALR a 62-50 lead with 7:34 left. ASU never pulled closer than seven points after that.
Roger Woods added 13 points and 11 rebounds for UALR.
"It sucks losing. Period," said Golden, who made 3 of 7 three-pointers and finished with 17 points. "Especially to our rival. I wouldn't say we had the game, but we had it in our control and we just gave it away."
That's become all too familiar for ASU at home. The Red Wolves fell to 3-6 in regular-season games at the Convocation Center this season, and they lost an exhibition game to Division II Southern Arkansas. ASU is 1-4 in conference home games, and five of its remaining nine games are at the Convocation Center.
It's part of the reason why ASU elected to wear its red road uniforms Thursday, but even that didn't work.
"I'm disappointed for our fans, and I'm disappointed for our players," Brady said. "We're better than that. We're a better team than what we showed."
Sports on 01/30/2015