JONESBORO -- John Brady's directions to his Arkansas State men's basketball team were pretty simple at halftime Saturday night: Quit shooting quick three-pointers and look for Anthony Livingston in the post.
When ASU finally did, Livingston helped erase a seven-point halftime deficit to force overtime, then helped spark a run in the extra period as the Red Wolves eventually earned a 78-73 victory over Texas State in front of an announced crowd of 2,219 at the Convocation Center.
Livingston scored 16 of his game-high 24 points after halftime, many on short jumpers or layups that helped turn a 33-26 halftime deficit into ASU's second victory in three days. Livingston's three-pointer with 1:05 left gave ASU a 65-63 lead, and though he missed a free throw that allowed Texas State's Wes Davis to make a three-pointer in the corner with eight seconds left to force overtime, his layup in traffic with 36.9 remaining gave ASU the lead for good.
Livingston also grabbed 15 rebounds while playing 44 minutes. Cameron Golden scored 22 points and Nouhoum Bocoum added 14 more for the Red Wolves (8-8, 3-4).
"Proud of our team's competitiveness," Brady said. "Those are good things for our team to have from an intangible standpoint. I've been preaching to our team about being unselfish, and playing inside out, and tonight was a statement of that."
It didn't start until after halftime, though, when Brady told the team that it was 1 of 9 from the three-point line and that Livingston, its second leading scorer, hadn't been much of a factor.
Livingston had eight points at halftime on 2-of-5 shooting, but he scored six points in a 14-5 run to start the second half, the last of which was a floater in the lane that gave ASU a 40-38 lead with 15:49 left.
"He definitely got us going," Golden said. "He's one of the leaders on the team, so of course we're going to feed off of him whenever we can. We need him to win."
Livingston's basket with 8:51 left gave ASU a 50-49 lead. His last big shot put ASU up 74-72 in the final minute of overtime.
Livingston did so much he said he was cramping in his thighs and hamstrings during the game's final moments.
"I feel good, especially after that win," Livingston said. "That's what treatment is for. I've got to stay with it. My body does feel like the minutes are wearing, but I'll be alright."
Brady felt the same about needing Livingston on the floor despite the high minutes and cramps.
"All I know is we threw it inside and he scored, and he made a big three, and hit a couple of free throws," Brady said. "He can get in the cold tub tonight or tomorrow, whatever they do. I was proud of how he played. It's good for us."
The impact of inside scoring from Livingston and Bocoum, who had nine points after halftime, was so great that ASU might not have needed overtime if it was able to guard the three-point line.
Texas State (10-6, 4-3) made 6 of 14 three-pointers in the second half and overtime, including Davis' contested three in front of his team's bench that forced overtime. After ASU sprinted to a 72-66 lead in overtime, Ethan Montalvo then made three-pointers on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 72-72.
ASU responded by going to Livingston again. His basket from the baseline gave it its final lead, and Brown's long three-pointer with 11 seconds left clanged off the front of the rim to finish a game that was tied 12 times and featured 12 lead changes.
"Mental part of the game," Golden said of ASU's ability to finally finish. "They say it's more mental than physical, so we just came together and said we were going to put that behind us and use that energy."
LOUISIANA-MONROE 64,
UALR 52
MONROE, La. — Majok Deng scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Louisiana-Monroe to a 64-52 win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday.
Nick Coppola had 15 points, Tyler Ongwae had 13 points, Justin Roberson scored 12 and Marvin Williams 10 for the Warhawks (6-10, 1-5 Sun Belt).
Josh Hagins finished with 15 points for Arkansas-Little Rock (6-10, 1-5).
After a dunk by Deng put the Warhawks up 16 early in the second, the Trojans mounted an 8-0 run to cut the lead to eight with 12:37 remaining, but Louisiana-Monroe bounced back with eight consecutive points capped by a Coppola three-pointer. Down the stretch, Hagins’ three-pointer with 1:14 left cut the lead to seven, but the Warhawks scored the last five, all on free throws.
Sports on 01/18/2015