Arkansas State played Georgia State, the preseason choice to win the Sun Belt Conference, down to the wire two weeks ago in Jonesboro.
That wasn't the case in the rematch Saturday in Atlanta.
Ryan Harrow scored 21 points and Markus Crider added 14 for Georgia State, whose zone defense held the Red Wolves to 20.4 percent shooting in a 74-43 victory over the Red Wolves on Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena.
ASU (9-12, 4-8) has lost four of its past five games, and Saturday's setback came nine days after losing 96-59 at Louisiana-Lafayette. It's the first time ASU has suffered two Sun Belt losses by 30 points or more since joining the conference in 1991.
Saturday's blowout was evident early against Georgia State (15-7, 8-3), the Sun Belt's second-place team that posted a 60-54 victory over ASU on Jan. 19 in Jonesboro.
ASU missed six consecutive shots and committed three turnovers in the first seven minutes as Georgia State took a 10-0 lead. After Cameron Golden's three-pointer, ASU missed its next four shots and turned it over twice over the next three minutes while falling behind 16-3. ASU trailed by 10 points or more the rest of the game.
Anthony Livingston led the Red Wolves with 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting, and Sean Livingston and Golden scored scored nine points each. ASU was 10 of 49 from the floor, 4 of 16 from three-point range and was outrebounded 43-27.
Harrow, the Sun Belt's leading scorer, made 8 of 11 shots.
Hunter, second in the league with a scoring average of 20.4 points per game, was held to 11 points on 2-of-10 shooting. Curtis Washington added 12 points for the Panthers, who have won four in a row.
SWAC MEN
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 65,
GRAMBLING STATE 53
Marcel Mosley had 17 points to lead Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a big second half while winning its fourth consecutive game Saturday night in Grambling, La.
UAPB (7-15, 4-4) trailed 22-20 at halftime but outscored Grambling State 45-31 in the second half for an easy victory.
Trent Whiting came off the bench to score 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and UAPB overcame 3-of-15 three-point shooting. The Golden Lions forced 21 turnovers to make up for shooting 51.7 percent and making only 19 of 29 from the free-throw line.
In other Southwestern Athletic Conference games, Jeffrey Simmons and Jordan Washington scored 19 points apiece, Isaac Williams added 16, and host Mississippi Valley State beat Jackson State 75-62. Washington made 5 of 9 three-pointers, Williams made 4 of 6, and the Delta Devils (3-8, 2-6 SWAC) hit 13 of 23 overall from long distance. Derell Taylor led Jackson State (5-16, 3-5) with 23 points and 9 rebounds, Kaven Bernard added 10, and Jaleel Queary had 5 steals.... Montrael Scott scored 22 points to lead host Prairie View A&M to an 89-63 victory over Alabama A&M. Karim York and John Brisco had 13 apiece, Tre Hagood added 11 and Reggis Onwukamuche chipped in 10 for Prairie View (6-15, 4-4 SWAC.)Prairie View has now won four of its last five games.
Sports on 02/01/2015