Arkansas State made up for a tough start offensively Saturday, but its seven-game wining streak came to an end when it couldn't keep Texas-Arlington off the free-throw line.
Texas-Arlington -- the preseason Sun Belt favorite that is trying to play its way back among the league leaders -- made 26 of 34 free throws, including 17 of 22 in the second half, to make up for a 5-of-24 three-point shooting performance in an 81-75 victory at College Park Arena.
Kevin Hervey led the Mavericks (18-6, 8-3 Sun Belt) with 19 points, while Erick Neal had 18 points and 9 assists.
Rashad Lindsey had 19 points to lead ASU (18-7, 9-3), which made 17 of 28 (60.7 percent) shots from the floor in the second half to mount a rally. But the Red Wolves were 10 of 16 from the free-throw line in the second half, while the Mavericks took advantage of their opportunities from the line.
ASU rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to tie the game at 70-70 on Deven Simms' jumper with 4:31 left, but Texas-Arlington scored on its next four possessions and capped the game by making its final four free throws.
"We've got to do better from the free-throw line," ASU Coach Grant McCasland said on his postgame radio show. "I'm proud of our team with the way we competed. We found a way to get back into it, and now we've got to find a way to get over the hump."
Simms had 17 points while Devin Carter had 16 for the Red Wolves.
ASU's winning streak was snapped, but it is still in a three-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt after Georgia State lost at Appalachian State and Georgia Southern lost at Coastal Carolina.
SWAC MEN
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 68, SOUTHERN 61
PINE BLUFF -- Trent Steen had 20 points to lead Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which has won consecutive games for the first time in over a month.
Steen made 6 of 9 shots from the floor and 8 of 10 free throws for the Golden Lions (7-19, 6-6 Southwestern Athletic), who never trailed in the second half.
Shawn Prudhomme's layup with 4:35 left tied the game at 53-53, but Jaquan Lynch made a three-pointer to spark a 12-3 run that made it 65-56 with 19 seconds left.
Lynch finished with 11 points for UAPB, which shot 46.9 percent from the floor and held Southern (11-14, 7-5) to 37.3 percent and 3-for-18 three-point shooting.
UAPB used a 9-0 run to take a 20-11 lead with 8:49 left in the first half, and led 33-29 at halftime.
Sports on 02/12/2017