TROY, Ala. (2/10/22) – Ten second half turnovers led to 20 points off those turnovers for Troy as the Trojans edged the Arkansas State men’s basketball team 79-77 Thursday in a battle of two of the top three teams in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
Norchad Omier tied his career high with 31 points and added 11 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season. Omier was 12-of-16 (.750) and 7-of-9 (.778) at the line while adding an assist and a steal. Caleb Fields had 12 points and six assists while Marquis Eaton totaled 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Three players finished with double figures for Troy (17-7, 7-3 SBC) led by 19 points from Efe Odigie.
 
A-State (15-7, 6-4 SBC) had a six-point advantage, 35-29, at the break after turning the ball over just five times in the first 20 minutes. In a tale of two halves, the Red Wolves committed 10 turnovers in the second half leading to 20 points for the Trojans. Duke Deen had 13 points, all in the second half, on 3-of-6 shooting beyond the arc and he dished out a game-high eight assists.
 
With 9:32 to play, the Red Wolves led by 10, 59-49, but the Trojans answered with an 8-0 run. Troy did not take the lead, 66-65, until a 3-pointer from Deen with 5:10 remaining. Free throws by Eaton tied the game at 69 with 2:53 to play, but the Trojans jumped ahead 76-72 with 1:01 remaining. Three turnovers in the final minute were costly for A-State, but Avery Felts made a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one, 78-77. After the Trojans split a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds left, Felts had a look at the go-ahead 3-pointer, but the shot rimmed off for the narrow A-State loss.
 
Omier tied his career-high of 31 points set earlier this season against Lyon College. His 31-point performance is the first by an A-State player in a conference game since Marquis Eaton had 32 points against Louisiana last season. He is the first A-State player since Deven Simms had 30 points and 10 rebounds at Wichita State on Dec. 19, 2017.
 
A-State out-shot the Trojans .509 (27-53) to .466 (27-58), but Troy was 9-of-25 (.360) from 3-point range compared to 5-of-14 (.357) for the Red Wolves. A-State was 78.3 percent (18-23) at the free throw line while the Trojans knocked down 72.7 percent (16-22). The Red Wolves won the board battle 33-29 and outscored Troy 36-28 in the paint.
 
A-State continues the road swing Saturday at South Alabama. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. from the Mitchell Center with the game airing on ESPN+ and across the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and flagship station 107.9 KFIN. For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).
 

Original article source: https://astateredwolves.com/news/2022/2/10/mens-basketball-a-state-comes-up-short-at-troy.aspx | Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council