PENSACOLA, Fla. (3/11/24) – Freddy Hicks scored a game-high 24 points, but the Arkansas State men’s basketball team dropped a tough 91-71 decision to second-seeded James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game on Monday night inside the Pensacola Bay Center.
Hicks’ season-best total came on 6-of-12 from the field and 11-of-13 from the foul line, while he also grabbed seven rebounds. He earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 22.0 points, and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 62.9 percent from the field and 90.5 percent (19-21) from the foul line. Caleb Fields joined Hicks on the All-Tournament list, averaging 12.3 points and 4.7 assists with an 81.3-percent (13-16) clip at the charity stripe.
The Red Wolves (18-16) out-rebounded the Dukes (31-3) 36-30, including 17 offensive rebounds. A-State shot 35.6 percent from the floor on 21-of-59, while going 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) at the free-throw line. JMU shot at a 62.5-percent clip (35-56) and hit 11-of-19 from beyond the arc.
Izaiyah Nelson recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four blocks, while Derrian Ford also scored 12 points and hit a team-high three from deep. Fields and Taryn Todd both registered 10 points and 5 assists.
Xavier Brown led the Dukes with 21 points – all in the first half – and 10 rebounds. Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 19 while Jaylen Carey and Noah Freidel accounted for 13 and 12 apiece.
A-State overcame a slow start in which it hit 1 of its first seven shots to take a 14-12 lead on a layup by Todd. The Dukes then caught fire from the field, hitting 10 of their last 13 field-goal tries to take a 42-32 lead into the half.
JMU pushed its lead out to 15 early in the second half, but the Red Wolves kept fighting to keep it within 12. Edwards later capped a 9-0 run to give James Madison a 25-point lead with under 10 minutes to play. JMU’s largest lead of the night came on another jumper by Edwards that put the count at 87-58 with 5:35 to go.
The Red Wolves closed strong down the stretch, scoring 13 of the game’s final 17 points, capped by a Nelson slam in the final minute.
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Red Wolves Fall to James Madison in Sun Belt Championship Game. Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council
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