Derrian Ford got the start over Joe Pinion on Saturday night versus Troy, before what was likely the largest crowd of the season, fans clad in black to bear witness to the Trojan’s demise. For the first quarter of basketball, however, it appeared that those in attendance would only commemorate the death of offense, as buckets came at a premium while ref whistles thrived in earnest.

The scoring would finally receive a boost with about seven minutes left in the half with a 9-0 Red Wolves run sparked by a Dyondre Dominguez three pointer and then punctuated by a pair of Izaiyah Nelson dunks. The Red Wolves led 34-30 at halftime led by Nelson’s ten points and ten rebounds.

The second half opened with a Terrence Ford three, and it seemed the Red Wolves were ready to put a hurt on Troy. But the game rapidly became a ham-fisted slog of missed layups, suspect free throw shooting and knotted play in the paint, playing right into Troy’s hands. Seven minutes in, Troy had a four point lead on the strength of Thomas Dowd’s hot shooting. Smothering Red Wolves defense kept the Trojans from getting too comfortable, and with five minutes left to play, Arkansas State was down just one, 53-52.

But the fouls piled up. Every moment in the paint was punctuated by the shrill blow of an officials whistle,. Troy would end up shooting 27 free throws to the Red Wolves 18. When A-State did find themselves at the stripe, they shot an abysmal 66%.

Both Pinion and Todd nailed crucial threes in the waning seconds of the game, but Troy’s Justin Fields was simply too overpowering, nailing 6/9 from three for 20 total points. Fields made just as many threes as the entire Red Wolves combined. Down four with two seconds left, Terrence Ford hit a three at the buzzer for the official one point loss.

The defeat creates a four-way tie in the Sun Belt, with Arkansas State knotted up with South Alabama, Troy and James Madison, to whom all Arkansas State has suffered defeats. T. Ford led the Red Wolves with 18 points, and Nelson chipped in a total of 14 boards. Arkansas State welcomes South Alabama to Jonesboro on Wednesday.

PHOTO:  Carla Wehmeyer – Arkansas State