CONWAY, S.C. (1/18/20) – For the sixth time this season, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team erased a double-digit deficit to come back and win as the Red Wolves earned an 80-75 win at Coastal Carolina Saturday at the HTC Center.

Marquis Eaton paced A-State (13-7, 5-4 Sun Belt) with 20 points while Jerry Johnson added 17 points. Melo Eggleston added 13 points and eight rebounds and Christian Willis chipped in with a career high 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Keishawn Brewton led Coastal Carolina (11-9, 4-5 Sun Belt) with 32 points and Tommy Burton had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

A-State shot 40.4 percent (21-52) for the afternoon, hitting 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) beyond the arc. The Red Wolves converted 28-of-39 (71.8 percent) at the charity stripe, including a perfect 10-of-10 in the final 1:37 of regulation. Coastal Carolina finished 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field while hitting 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) from 3-point range. The Chanticleers also shot 71 percent at the line converting 15-of-21.

“I’m to the point where I’ve thrown my hands up and accepted that this is who we are,” said A-State head coach Mike Balado. “I’ve told the guys this is who we are and we just have to come back. We keep doing it and it’s hard to get guys up for a game two nights after a tough loss on the road, but our guys are so resilient. We are a very good bounce back team and we didn’t let it affect us today. We didn’t shoot the ball great, but our bench saved the game. Christian Willis was phenomenal today, phenomenal defensively and phenomenal making some big shots.”

Despite not scoring for the first three and a half minutes and being held without a field goal for nearly the first six minutes, A-State led by as many as eight in the first half before facing a 40-38 deficit at the half. The first half featured 31 fouls and 41 free throws. Coastal Carolina’s biggest lead was six, after scoring the first six points of the game, but both teams struggled from the field to open the game with each team shooting below 40 percent over the first 20 minutes.

Coastal Carolina hit 8-of-12 (67 percent), including 3-of-5 (60 percent) from 3-point range, to build a 12-point advantage, 60-48, with 11:48 to play. The Red Wolves used a 14-3 run to trail by one, 63-62, with 5:11 to play.

Johnson and Willis sparked A-State as the duo combined for 18 points over a 7:20 stretch that saw the Red Wolves claim the lead it did not surrender. A-State converted all 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to take the five-point victory.

Coastal Carolina entered the game with the top rebound margin in the league, but A-State and the Chanticleers both finished with 37 rebounds. The Red Wolves had a 37-15 advantage in bench points, but were outscored 28-16 in the paint.

A-State returns to First National Bank Arena to host South Alabama Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

Original article source: https://astateredwolves.com/news/2020/1/18/mens-basketball-red-wolves-claw-back-for-80-75-win-at-coastal-carolina.aspx | Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council