JONESBORO -- Arkansas State was two days removed from a deflating loss that removed it from first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. On top of that, the Red Wolves were welcoming in one of the best defensive teams in Division I basketball that still had that league-leading spot.
No matter for ASU, which forced its way into a tie atop the Sun Belt on Monday night when it unleashed a first-half frenzy unlike anything it had seen all season, then held off two second-half rallies by UALR for a 76-73 victory at the Convocation Center.
Against a team that had sprinted to a surprising start with its defense, ASU did whatever it wanted for much of Monday's game, shooting 62.1 percent from the field in the first half and 50.0 percent for the game.
The Red Wolves also scored more points against UALR than any team had this season, and moved into a three-way tie with UALR and Texas-Arlington at the top of the Sun Belt.
"Wow," said ASU Coach John Brady, who earned his 400th career victory. "We came out tonight with, I guess, something to prove and we played really well together."
Anthony Livingston scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds, and his biggest shot came in the final minute.
UALR (15-2, 5-1) cut a 48-30 halftime deficit to 48-41 three minutes into the half and 56-52 seven minutes later. After the Trojans trimmed ASU's 69-52 lead to 74-73 with 1:16 left, Livingston's jumper with 51 seconds left was the last shot the Red Wolves (9-8, 5-1) needed for the victory.
"It feels great," said ASU guard Devin Carter, who had 20 points. "They were at the top of the league, we were down on ourselves after last game, and we had to come back strong."
It wasn't as easy as the first half made it look. UALR held ASU to 36.0 percent shooting in the second half and forced eight turnovers to get back in it.
UALR's Josh Hagins missed a floater in the final minute and the Trojans trailing 76-73. Then in the final seconds, the Trojans' Marcus Johnson Jr. dribbled nearly all of the final 19 seconds off the clock before pulling up for a three-pointer at the buzzer that grazed off the right side of the rim.
UALR Coach Chris Beard said he had no problem with the final two possessions, considering Hagins, who had 16 points, and Johnson were handling the shots.
"I have a lot of confidence in our players," Beard said. "There are no guards other than Josh Hagins and Marcus Johnson than I would want to coach in the conference."
Beard said he didn't take any consolation with how close UALR made a game that appeared to be out of reach at halftime. Beard credited ASU, but said the Trojans played too poorly on defense to leave with positive thoughts.
UALR entered the game leading Division I in scoring defense (55.7 points per game), and the conference in field-goal percentage defense (36.2) and turnover margin (plus-5.9). Beard said UALR's offense had just as much to do with the defense in the first half -- it was 8 of 27 from the field -- saying his team took quick shots that allowed ASU to speed the game up faster than it wanted to play.
"It's hard to play great defense when your play bad offense, and it's hard to lock in and play good offense when you're not guarding anybody," Beard said. "Our offense was not helping our defense and our defense. I didn't like our lack of competitiveness in the first half."
As well as it looked for ASU through 20 minutes -- and as bad as it looked for UALR -- the second half was anything but smooth.
Beard switched his starting lineup in the second half. In was Johnson and Roger Woods and out was Maurius Hill and Jermaine Ruttley. It seemed to have worked. Ossey and Woods combined for the first eight points, then Mareik Isom hit a three-pointer and, after a Carter drive, Isom hit another three to get within 50-44 with 14:46 left.
"You knew they were going to do something," Brady said. "They weren't just going to lay down and roll over and walk away. They've won too many games and they play with too much confidence."
Woods later scored inside and Jalen Jackson followed with a three-point play to get within 56-52 with 10:58 left.
ASU looked like it was pulling away over the next three minutes, when a 13-0 run capped by two free throws by Livingston made it 69-52 with 7:44 left. But UALR came roaring back again, scoring on 10 of its next 13 possessions to get within 73-70 on a floater by Hagins with 2:33 left.
Two free throws by Isom and one by Woods with 1:16 left made it 74-73. But the Trojans couldn't make the final push, and the Red Wolves escaped.
"We were ready today and found a way to win," Brady said. "I'm so happy for our guys."
Sports on 01/19/2016