BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Arkansas State men’s basketball team trimmed a 14-point halftime deficit to three points, but Indiana pulled away in the second half to defeat the Red Wolves 87-70 Wednesday night at Assembly Hall.

Deven Simms scored 21 points off the bench to pace the Red Wolves and Tristin Walley added 12 points. Ty Cockfield and Grantham Gillard each had nine points for A-State while Juwan Morgan had 28 points to lead three Indiana players in double figures.

The Hoosiers, who had a stretch of nine-straight makes late in the first half, shot 50 percent (33-66) from the field and limited the Red Wolves to 42 percent (26-62) shooting. A-State was 7-of-19 (37 percent) beyond the arc while the Hoosiers were 5-for-18 (28 percent), but Indiana converted 16-of-21 (76 percent) at the charity stripe.

A-State had a positive assist to turnover ratio for the first time this season, logging 12 assists against 11 turnovers. Indiana had just eight turnovers and held a 15-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Hoosiers scored 50 of their 87 points in the paint and held a 43-33 edge on the glass.

How It Happened (First Half):

A-State hit shots early and built a 16-12 lead with 11:22 to play in the first half. A 15-5 run saw the Hoosiers take advantage and Indiana went on to hold a 47-33 lead at the break.

Indiana hit nine-straight shots to turn an 18-18 game into a 41-31 advantage. After starting the game 0-for-6 from 3-point range, the Hoosiers made four-straight beyond the arc to open up the double-digit advantage.

The Red Wolves shot 44 percent (11-25) in the first half, including 3-of-9 (33 percent) beyond the arc and went 8-for-10 (80 percent) at the charity stripe. Indiana made 18-of-35 (51 percent), including 4-of-11 (36 percent) 3-pointers, shots in the first half and went 7-for-9 (78 percent) at the free throw line. The Hoosiers had a 23-11 advantage on the glass, turning eight offensive rebounds into seven second chance points.

How It Happened (Second Half):

A-State didn’t go away easily in the second half as the Red Wolves outscored Indiana 27-16 to trim the 14 point halftime deficit to three, 63-60, with 8:12 remaining. The Hoosiers responded with a 10-2 run to regain the double-digit lead.

Indiana wound up closing the game by outscoring the Red Wolves 24-10 to secure the 87-70 victory. The Hoosiers shot 48 percent (15-31) in the second half and converted 9-of-12 (75 percent) at the charity stripe. A-State went to the line just five times in the second half, knocking in 3-of-5 (60 percent) while shooting 41 percent (15-37) from the field.

After being out-rebounded in the first half, A-State held a 23-20 edge on the glass in the second half. The Red Wolves also had a 9-5 advantage on the offensive glass in the second half resulting in a 11-6 edge in second chance points.

Notables:

• A-State falls to 1-7 against Big Ten opponents.
• The Red Wolves won the opening tip for the first time this season.
• Deven Simms had 21 points to lead A-State, his third 20-point effort in four games played. It’s his sixth career 20-point outing.
• Tristin Walley tallied a season-high 12 points and made the first two 3-pointers of his A-State career.
• The Red Wolves bench tabulated 36 points, the third-straight game with 30 or more bench points.

Quoting Coach Balado:

“I was proud of our effort coming out of halftime down 14 points. We found a way to fight back, but we’ve got to find a way to get out of having these lulls that last two or three minutes. Those lulls just make it too difficult to come back. Indiana beat us to a couple of loose balls and the offensive rebounding was a concern for us coming into this game. They had 13 offensive rebounds and 13 second chance points. Overall, I was proud of our effort, but we’ve just got to get over the hump.”

Up Next:

Arkansas State continues a three-game road trip with an 11:00 a.m. (CT) game at USF Friday. The Red Wolves then play at Cleveland State (Nov. 29) before returning to First National Bank on Dec. 5 to take on UT Martin.

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