Nacogdoches, TX – (Contributed) – The Arkansas State men’s basketball team (1-1, 0-0 SBC) fell behind early and could not recover at Stephen F. Austin (2-0, 0-0 SLC), dropping a 90-65 decision on Friday night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Joey Chammaa led the Red Wolves with 17 points over 25 minutes of action, shooting 3-for-5 (60 percent) from the floor and 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc while posting a team-high nine free throws on 12 attempts. As a team, A-State shot 17-for-54 (31.5 percent) from the floor and 5-for-27 (18.5 percent) from three-point range while converting 26 free throws on 33 attempts (78.8 percent).
The Lumberjacks opened with a 12-0 run spanning 3:14 before Christian Harmon scored the Red Wolves’ first points on a second-chance layup. SFA responded with a layup of their own before free throws from Chammaa started a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to five.
A-State would be outscored 26-9 over the next 10:35, but four points from Jalen Hampton followed by three free throws and a three-pointer from Chammaa slowed momentum for the opposition. The Scarlet and Black netted three more free throws over the final 1:30, closing the gap to 46-31 before entering intermission.
The Red Wolves surrendered a 12-4 run over the first five minutes of the second half, but a driving layup from Matt Hayman followed by a three-pointer from Hampton marked the start of an offensive surge. TJ Caldwell connected on a jumper before Chammaa recorded his second triple of the contest, but back-to-back scores for SFA threatened the comeback bid.
Harmon netted a three-pointer and two free throws while Royal Blue Smith tacked on a layup in-between, making the score 62-50 with 10:51 to go.
A second-chance three-pointer for the Lumberjacks was met with a layup from Chudi Dioramma, but nine of the next 13 points would fall for the opposition and pushed the deficit back to 18 at the 7:22 mark. A-State could not mount a comeback bid beyond that point, as the team was outscored 16-9 before the clock hit 0:00.
NEXT UP
A-State concludes a three-game road trip at Missouri State on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 7:00 p.m. inside Great Southern Bank Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
