The starting line-up featured a pair of guys Red Wolves fans didn’t get to see in the exhibition against Trevecca: guard Terrence Ford Jr. and forward Rashaud Marshall. Ford Jr. had been in a state of frozen animation since incurring a lower leg injury two seasons ago. Marshall, unavailable last week due to “family business” was now on the court filling in for Izaiyah Nelson, who was still in his protective boot chucking threes during warm-ups. Word was, Nelson would be ready by the game at Alabama. But what about the rest of the team?

The matchup between the Zips and Red Wolves began with both teams committing turnovers ahoy – each team over-pumped and vibrating from leftover Halloween candy. But then the hard hats came on, with Red Wolves hitting the deck for rebounds and powering into the paint for hard layups. After a Josh Hill time-out inducing slam, the score was 16-14 Red Wolves with Derrian Ford and Kobe Julien pitching in five points apiece.

Still, the Zips weren’t in town to tour Northeast Arkansas rice paddies. Akron hung tough, routinely flummoxing A-State’s defense with inside-outside passes that resulted in threes. The Zips reclaimed the lead with 7 minutes left in the half.

However, the Red Wolves were just too deep. A-State rotates a ton of guys; ten Red Wolves saw the floor by the 4 minute mark, with the Red Wolves up 27-23. Among those guys hitting the floor was Joseph Pinion. The Arkansas transfer immediately contributed with a pair of three pointers, one from roughly the location of old Delta Hall. By the time Kobe Julien dunked the final points of the half, the Red Wolves were up 40-30, despite 2/2 three point shooting from Akron’s Sharron Young (who would finish with a Zips high 15 points). D. Ford and Julien led all halftime scorers with nine points apiece.

After the half, the Zips returned to the floor with obvious intent to reclaim the lead, but Julien had too much business in the paint to entertain such fancies. A monster slam from the Louisiana transfer kept Akron honest while a Taryn Todd downtown dagger sapped the air out of the coup. It seemed the Red Wolves were ready to pull away.

Then the shooting cooled – for both sides. At the 13:45 mark, the score was 48-43 Red Wolves. Hill came off the bench and immediately provided a couple of high percentage shots to reassert command. However, after the Hill points, the Red Wolves continued to cool, committing too many ugly turnovers and taking too many contested shot. The Zips, who found some extra defense in their duffle bags, tied the score 52-52 with 10:21 to play. At the 7:11 mark, the Red Wolves had a one point lead on the grace of a Pinion three-pointer.

A pair of Pinion threes reestablished world order, while Todd began to do what Todd likes to do, which is score points. By the five minute mark, the Red Wolves had an eight point lead while Nelson was spending time outs helping the coaches draw up plays on the marker board.

Unfortunately, every time the Red Wolves looked ready to put the game away, the Zips would force a series of bad shots and turnovers. With just a 1:12 on the clock, the game was tied 70-70. A scoop layup gave the Red Wolves a two point lead, but then Akron’s Shammah Scott returned the favor. Both teams called timeouts at 22 seconds to discuss their options.

“Rest of college basketball is playing cupcake games, and we’re getting Akron,” mused Coach Bryan Hodgson after the game, who heaped praise upon his opponent.

A Pinion airball from three bounced off a Zip and out of bounds to give A-State one last shot to end the game in regulation. On the inbound, Terrence Ford Jr. received the leather and popped a three with just five seconds on the clock – only for the refs to overturn it on a shot clock violation. However, the Zips were unable to convert on the other end, and bonus ball commenced.

“They were playing twice as fast as they every played,” admitted Coach Hodgson. “And I admit it, we weren’t ready for that.”

Red Wolves opened scoring with a D Ford steal and a Taryn Todd layup. An Akron 3 reminded A-State that the Zips hadn’t yet packed up the bus. A second Todd layup delivered the lead, and a hustle layup from Pinion widened it to three. Meanwhile, Marshall did his part plugging up the paint on defense, forcing misses from the Zips as priceless seconds ticked off the clock.

“Our guys responded and made tough plays,” observed Coach Hodgson.

It was Marshall who’d finish the game with a series of tough plays, first with a big lay-up, then with an even bigger rebound with 8 seconds left, forcing the Zips to foul with 8 seconds left. And with that, the Zips became unzipped.

PHOTO MINE