About an hour before the start of the CBI semifinal game between Arkansas State and High Point, a friend of mine asked me to join him for a few beers, a request I never refuse. When six o’clock arrived, I asked the lady behind the bar to switch channels to ESPN2, and my friend and I watched the game between discussions of philosophy, history, physics (quantum and practical), French poetry and deep sea engineering.

None of those topics matched the intensity of the game’s waning seconds, with the outcome of the contest literally in the hands of the Red Wolves as Taryn Todd pooched up a shot in the paint with the milliseconds expiring off the shot clock. From my vantage point (at the bar, in the golden glow of beer) Todd’s shot looked good. The ball bounced gently on the rim, pausing to consider arguments from both sides of inertia before finally falling away from the hoop and onto a floor that now belongs to the High Point Panthers.

Arkansas State fell 81-80 despite a monumental effort from sophomore forward Izaiyah Nelson – a game high 25 points plus 15 rebounds, a block and TWO three pointers. The Red Wolves fell despite limiting High Points prolific scorer, Abdoulaye Thiam, to just three points. Bryan Hodgson’s squad fell despite the team shooting 36% from three and nearly 80% from the free throw line. Sometimes, you don’t win the game.

The Red Wolves walked off the CBI-branded floor losers of the game, but winners of something far more difficult to obtain: the respect of Arkansas State fans, made hardboiled and cynical by decades of unfulfilled promises, uninspired efforts and just plain bad basketball. Hodgson and his team delivered an exceptional two hours of entertainment to everyone who tuned into ESPN2 last night, announcing to the world that A-State hoops is done screwing around.

Now we truly venture into uncharted territory: looking forward to the next Red Wolves basketball season.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sun Belt Media