JONESBORO, Ark. – Deven Simms scored 24 points, including 22 in the second half, and Arkansas State shot 62 percent in the second period to earn a 91-89 Sun Belt men's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday night in First National Bank Arena.
The Eagles trailed 90-87 after a Simms free throw with 16 seconds left.
Mike Hughes tried a 3-pointer from the wing for GS, and it came off the rim to
Tookie Brown, who hustled out to the line and was fouled attempting a trey with 3.1 seconds to go.
After a review to make sure it was a 3-pointer, Brown's first try from the foul line went in and out. The junior made the next two, and the Eagles fouled Ty Cockfield with 2.3 seconds remaining. He made the first and missed the second, and Brown's 70-foot desperation heave was well short.
Mike Hughes scored a career-high 27 points and added six rebounds and one assist on his way to becoming the first Eagle in the modern era to record 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.
Ike Smith posted 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Eagles (16-8, 7-4), while Brown notched 18 points, five boards and three assists.
Rashad Lindsey scored 18 points for Arkansas State (9-15, 4-7), and Cockfield finished with 12. Tamas Bruce tallied 10 points and 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
The story
The Eagles trailed by seven throughout most of the second half but used a 9-3 run, capped by a pair of Hughes free throws, to tie the game 85-85.
Arkansas State went to the free-throw line on its next three trips down the floor with Simms hitting three and Lindsey adding one, to build a four-point lead. Hughes made a pair with 24 seconds left, and the Eagles fouled Simms, who made 1 of 2 for the 90-87 lead.
The Red Wolves shot a season-high 44 free throws in the game and made a season-high 30. GS was whistled for fouls that sent Arkansas State to the charity stripe on 10 of their last 14 offensive possessions of the game, starting with 6:43 left in the contest, though two of those were deliberate fouls by the Eagles.
The Eagles also took advantage of the 61 combined fouls called in the contest, the most in a game in the Sun Belt this season. GS made 21 of 29 from the foul line, including 17 of 24 in the second half. Two Eagles fouled out, and four others had four fouls, while Arkansas State had five players with four fouls.
Quotables from Head coach Mark Byington
Overall
"It was unfortunate. It's a hard game with no pace, no rhythm and no consistency. It was very, very hard for our guys to get in a rhythm, and I think it probably wasn't very pleasing to watch for the people here. I thought our guys played really hard, and I thought they were in-tune and ready to play. I like the way our guys kept playing and fought through some difficult things. It's frustrating, but you go back to control what you can control, and you can't control some things on the basketball court."
On Hughes' game
"Mike has dealt with a lot of things, and you never, ever hear him complain. He just shows up, and he plays. I love his demeanor on the road. He's tough, he gives us an edge and he's not scared of moments. I drew the play up for him at the end of the game to get that 3, and he had a good look."
Looking ahead
"Just the opposite of last year, when we finished with five of seven on the road and faded at the end, I'm hoping we can get energized by playing five of seven at home. We need to have an upward trajectory the rest of February and start playing our best basketball of the year."
Next up
The Eagles play five of their final seven regular-season games at home and open a three-contest homestand Thursday, Feb. 8, against ULM. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN3. Promotions: Throwback Thursday – Fans can submit their favorite oldies songs to be played at the game, Basketball recreation teams from the Statesboro-Bulloch Parks and Recreation Department will play at halftime.
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