The Records: Arkansas State (6-4, 0-2 Sun
Belt). The Red Wolves had their two-game winning streak come to an end
with a 61-54 non-conference setback to Murray State Wednesday (Dec. 19) at the
ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
ASU, which is 6-2 in non-league encounters to date this season, is 4-1
at home, 2-3 on the road, and 0-0 at neutral sites this campaign. Kent
State (6-5, 0-0 Mid-American). The
Golden Flashes snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-48 non-conference
home win over St. Francis (Pa.) Thursday (12/20) in Kent, Ohio. KSU is 4-3 at home, 2-2 on the road, and 0-0
at neutral sites this season. Kent State
posted a 21-12 overall record and had a fourth-place 10-6 Mid-American
Conference mark for the 2011-12 campaign.
The Golden Flashes earned a berth in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com
Post-Season Tournament.
The Coaches:
Arkansas State – John Brady
(Bellhaven, 1976), 5th season, 67-70 (.489); Career - 348-286 (.549)
– (0-1 vs. KSU). Brady was named the
2009-10 SBC Coach of the Year and the District VII Coach of the Year by the
United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). He served six seasons (1991-97) as head coach
at Samford and then spent 10-plus seasons (1997-08) in a head coaching capacity
at LSU. Brady guided LSU to two SEC Championship
titles along with four NCAA Tournament appearances, which included a Final Four
appearance in the 2005-06 season. Kent State –
Rob Senderoff (Albany, 1995), 2nd season, 27-17 (.614) – (1-0
vs. ASU). Senderoff was named to his
current post in April 2011 after spending the previous seven seasons (2008-11) as
an associate head coach at Kent State.
He served as an assistant at Indiana (2006-08), Kent State (2002-06),
Towson (2001-02), Yale (1999-01), and Fordham (1997-99). Senderoff was named the number four Mid-Major
Assistant Coach in the nation by Hoop Scoop in Sept. 2010 and the top assistant
coach in the MAC by Fox Sports in 2010.
About Kent State: Senior forward Chris Evans led KSU with a game-high tying 17 points and
a game-best nine rebounds in the win over St. Francis and sophomore guard Kris
Brewer contributed 13 points. The Golden
Flashes' top two scoring leaders, Evans (16.1 ppg.) and senior guard Randal
Holt (12.9 ppg.) have combined to account for 41.1% (319-777) of the team's
points production this campaign. In
rebounding, Evans (7.5 rpg.) and junior forward Mark Henniger (4.1 rpg.) have
accounted for 36.8% (127-345) of the squad's output.
All-Time Series: The all-time series is tied at 1-1 and began in the 1950-51 season with
Arkansas State claiming a 60-50 win. Kent
State posted a 69-54 victory over the Red Wolves last season (12/29/11) in
Jonesboro, Ark., as Marcus Hooten totaled a team-high 12 points with a game-best tying nine
rebounds. ASU is averaging 57.0 points
per game (114 total) while Kent State has averaged 59.5 points an outing (119
total) in the series.
Non-Conference
Play: A-State
has posted a 6-2 record (.857) this season – 4-1 at home and 2-1 on the
road. The Red Wolves had their six-game
winning streak snapped with a 61-54 loss to Murray State this last Wednesday
(12/19). In its eight encounters, A-State is averaging 72.0 points a game (576
total) while the opposition is scoring at a 63.4 points per contest clip (507
total) for an +8.6 points differential.
The Red Wolves are averaging 36.5 caroms a game (292 total) while their opponent
has posted 36.8 boards per contest (294 total).
Ed Townsel (16.0 ppg.), Brandon Peterson (12.4 ppg.), and Raeford Worsham (10.3 ppg.) have
combined for 53.6% (309-576) of the team's points output. Peterson has hauled down a team-best 10.4
rebounds an outing (83 total) while Raeford
Worsham is ASU's top field-goal percentage leader at 60.0% (33-55). Brandon
Peterson is shooting 52.1% (37-71) from the field.
December Matchups: A-State is
presently 27-21 (.563) in December encounters since the 2007-08 season as the Red Wolves are 22-5 at home, 4-16 on
the road, and 1-0 at neutral sites.
ASU's best record during that
span was a 5-3 mark both in the 2008-09 (4-0 at home) and 2010-11 (5-0 at
home) seasons.
Finn-tastic: Senior guard Trey Finn is 70 points away from
reaching the 1,000 career points mark and as a result would be the 24th
individual in the program's history to attain the noteworthy milestone. To date, Finn has amassed 930 career points
in 100 contests and has a 9.3 points per game average. He needs 83 points away from moving into a 23rd-place tie with
Jabari Myles (1994-98; 1,013 career points) on ASU's all-time charts.
Welcome Back: Junior forward Kendrick Washington returned to the
court last Sunday (12/16) against Austin Peay after missing the previous game
versus St. Bonaventure (12/8) due to an injury.
Washington came off the Red Wolves' bench to post nine points on
four-of-six shooting from the field and also contributed three rebounds to go
with two blocked shots. He netted three
points with two blocked shots in
18 minutes against Murray State (12/19).
Leaders of The
Pack: Ed Townsel (14.6 ppg.) and Brandon Peterson (11.9 ppg.) are the
two lone Red Wolves currently with double-figure scoring averages and the two
have combined to generate 37.7% (265-702) of the team's points production this
season to date.
Among
The National Leaders: ASU presently ranks
22nd nationally in turnover margin (4.4) through games of Dec. 16 while the Red Wolves are 32nd in
steals (9.6 spg.), 83rd in three-point field goals per game (7.2 avg.), 87th in
personal fouls (16.3 avg.), and 98th in scoring offense (72.0 ppg.).
Down-Townsel: Ed Townsel has
canned a team-leading 28 three-point field goals this season and has connected
on 39.4% (28-71) from beyond the arc.
Townsel, who ranks 25th among this week's national leaders in
three-point field goals made (3.0 avg.) and 35th in three-point field goal
percentage (42.9%), has produced 41.8% (28-67) of the team's three-ball output
to date.
Block Party: Brandon Peterson (17 total) and Kendrick Washington (12 total) lead
ASU in blocked shots this season and the pair have accounted for
76.3% (29-34) of the team's output.
Nationally, Peterson ranks 87th with a 1.78 average while Washington is
listed at 208th with a 1.25 blocks average.
Red Wolf Howl: A-State's top
three points leaders this month in Raeford
Worsham (13.3 ppg.), Brandon Peterson
(13.0 ppg.), and Ed Townsel (11.0
ppg.) have combined for 57.1% (149-261) of the team's scoring ... Raeford Worsham has shot at least
50% or better in eight games this season in which he has attempted at
shot. In his last four contests, Worsham
has connected on 52.8% (19-36) from the floor ... Ed Townsel is shooting 31.8% (21-66) in his last five outings after
producing a 46.3% (31-67) efficiency rate in
his intial fie encounters ... Brandon
Peterson has a combined seven steals in his last two games, including a
career-best five against Austin Peay (12/16).
He had two total steals in his initial eight outings this campaign ... The Red Wolves are averaging
16.5 steals (33 total) in their last two games after posting a 5.3 steals
average (16 total) in the three previous contests ... Kendrick Washington is averaging a squad third-best 9.8 points a
game (49 total) in five road games this season compared to 7.8 points an outing
(31 total) in five home contests ... Raeford
Worsham is shooting a team-high 72.7% (16-22) on the road this season and
is only one of two Red Wolves with a 50% field-goal percentage or better in
away encounters.
Last Time Out: Arkansas State
turned in arguably its best defensive performance of this season and battled
highly-touted Murray State almost down to the wire before coming out on the
short end of a 61-54 decision Wednesday (Dec. 19) night in front of a
season-high 2,834 fans at the ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
Leading the way for Arkansas State in scoring was Ed Townsel with 15
points followed by Brandon Peterson, who recorded his fifth double-double of
this season with a 14-point, 11-rebound effort. Raeford Worsham chipped
in with 13 points off the bench in the loss.
Arkansas State led 27-26 at the half and the second half was back and
forth most of the way in a half which had nine lead changes and was tied three
times. A three-pointer by Murray State's All-American Isaiah Canaan broke
a 47-all tie with 7:35 remaining in the game and the would go up by six points
three-minutes later on a Brandon Garrett dunk to take a 55-49 lead with 4:37 to
go. The Red Wolves would counter with five unanswered points to pull
within 55-54 on two Ed Townsel free throws with 1:25 to be played. But,
Stacy Wilson buried a three-pointer despite being well defended on the key shot
to give Murray State a 58-54 advantage with 58 seconds to go. ASU would
miss its final three shots while the Racers converted all three tries from the
charity stripe, including the final two by Canaan, to seal the Red Wolves' fate.
ASU shot 36.2% for the game, but only 13.3% from three-point
territory. Meanwhile, Murray State connected on 41.2% of its shots in the
contest and went 28.6% beyond the arc. A telling point in the game's
outcome was at the free throw stripe as the Racers were 13-of-15 for 86.7% and
the Red Wolves had 10-of-18 for 55.6%.
For Murray State, Isaiah Canaan's 18 points led all
scorers and was joined in double figures by Stacy Wilson, who had 12 points and
hauled down a game-best 13 rebounds to notch the double-double.
Defensively, A-State forced Murray State into 18 turnovers
and produced 13 points of its miscues. ASU garnered four blocked shots
and 14 steals to the Racers' eight steals and two shot rejections.
2012-13 Reference Guide Now Online: The 2012-13 A-State men's basketball reference guide is now available to view online in a PDF format and contains information for all devoted Red Wolves fans. The 110-page publication features such information as 2012-13 student-athlete rosters, season preview, student-athlete biographies, coaching staff bios, 2011-12 season statistics, and all-time series records along with career, season, and game statistical records. The annual publication is a production of the ASU Sports Information Office under the direction of director Jerry Scott along with assistant directorsChris Graddy and Joe Gorby. To view the 2012-13 ASU men's basketball publication online, please visit the respective link - 2012-13 Arkansas State Men's Basketball Reference Guide.
A Season Ago: A-State concluded the 2011-12 campaign at 14-20 overall and posted a fifth-place 6-10 mark in the Sun Belt Conference's (SBC) West Division. The Red Wolves were 10-5 at home, 2-14 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites a season ago.
Up Next: The
Red Wolves return to Sun Belt Conference (SBC) action on Thursday, Dec. 27,
against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in Jonesboro, Ark. A 7:05
p.m. (CT) start time is slated for the contest between the two West Division
conference opponents.
