JONESBORO -- It wasn't easy, but Arkansas State atoned for one of its season's worst performances with a 79-78 victory over Appalachian State Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
Arkansas State Coach Grant McCasland had no explanation for ASU's struggles with the Sun Belt's last-place team, except that it speaks well for the conference.
"That's not a 1-9 team in a lot of leagues," McCasland said of Appalachian State (6-15, 1-9).
ASU (17-6, 8-2) lost to Appalachian State 70-57 when the teams met Jan. 9 in Boone, N.C., and the Red Wolves didn't take control Saturday until it outscored the Mountaineers 15-4 to take a 73-68 lead with 3:16 to play.
The lead grew to 75-69 as the Red Wolves held Appalachian State without a field goal from the 5:14 mark to 25.3 seconds left.
"It was our aggressiveness of attacking the rim," said McCasland of his team's decisive surge. "And we got a few stops."
The Mountaineers hit their final 3 three-point attempts, but the final one, which set the final score, came with 0.7 seconds to play.
Devin Carter scored 25 points despite going 2 of 11 on three-pointers. But Carter was 6 of 9 from inside the arc, converting 3 three-point plays while hitting 7 of 9 free throws.
"It was really just my coaches telling me to stay confident in my game as far as shooting and attacking the ball and staying aggressive like everybody else on this team," Carter said.
Deven Simms added 15 points, Rashad Lindsey 11 and Donte Thomas 10. Simms was also Arkansas State's defensive leader in the second half, limiting Appalachian State leading scorer Ronshad Shabazz to five points after he had 14 at halftime.
The Mountaineers led 39-37 at halftime after leading by as much as 31-23 in the first 2o minutes. They were efficient on offensive end in the opening half, hitting 13 of 25 (52 percent) from the field, 5 of 12 (41.7 percent) on three-pointers and 8 of 11 (72.7 percent) free throws.
"I thought we made his touches tough the second half," McCasland said of Shabazz. "I thought we made him earn it in the second half. Simms did a great job on him."
Tyrell Johnson had 16 points for Appalachian State and Craig Hinton 10.
Four Mountaineers fouled out, including point guard Emarius Logan at the 4:42 mark, and Simms tied it at 66-66 with two free throws. The Mountaineers regained a 68-66 lead, but the Red Wolves scored the next seven points.
Sports on 02/05/2017