Arkansas State's men can't say they were without chances during Thursday night's 61-54 loss to Appalachian State at Boone, N.C.
First, it was clawing within three points just before the half after falling behind by 14. Then Mike Balado's squad got within 56-51 despite falling into a 54-40 hole midway through the second half.
It was all there but the finish at the Holmes Convocation Center.
"They're a great team, especially at home," Balado said in his postgame radio interview. "They kept the game at a pace that they wanted for the most part. I thought we missed some really easy shots in the first half. ... We started off really slow offensively and couldn't really get into a rhythm."
That's not to say the Red Wolves lacked for hot stretches. They answered the Mountaineers' early punch with an 8-0 run during a two-minute flurry with three-pointers from Avery Felts and Marquis Eaton.
Arkansas State (13-5, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) then strung together an 11-2 spurt over five minutes in the second half, again slicing a double-digit deficit by more than half with three-pointers from Felts and Eaton.
The Red Wolves attempted 23 shots from three-point range but hit only eight -- three each from Eaton and Felts, with two by Malcolm Farrington.
Arkansas State shot 21 of 55 (38.2%) from the floor, much a result of Appalachian State (13-9, 7-2) forcing the Red Wolves to play a half-court game.
It didn't help the Red Wolves that Norchad Omier struggled. Although the sophomore forward successfully managed to extend his double-double streak to eight games with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Omier shot 4 of 10 from the floor and fouled out in the game's final minute.
"The timing was off a little bit for [Omier]," Balado said. "He does get beat up and grabbed a lot, so he gets frustrated but he's got to learn to be better."