JONESBORO -- Arkansas State Coach Grant McCasland hears Devin Carter talking to his teammates before games, at halftime and during timeouts about what's at stake.
"Our team looks to him for energy," McCasland said.
For big shots, too.
The senior guard made three first-half three-pointers to stake ASU to a lead Friday night, then another from the corner with less than two minutes left in the game to turn away a charging UALR in a 67-58 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 6,367 at the Convocation Center.
Carter, one of five holdovers from last year's team that went 11-20, had a team-high 18 points in the Red Wolves' victory over the Trojans, the second time in two months that they beat their in-state rival to stop a two-game skid.
Carter had 28 points in the first meeting between the teams.
"Those guys obviously look for him," UALR Coach Wes Flanigan said. "The whole time those four other guys on the floor are looking for him. And if you lose him, he's going to make you pay. He's a really good player."
The Red Wolves' victory last month at the Jack Stephens Center propelled ASU (19-8, 10-4) to a seven-game winning streak. The Red Wolves are hoping this decision means even more, considering Friday's victory puts them in a tie for the Sun Belt lead Texas-Arlington with four regular-season games remaining.
"We know what's at stake, always," Carter said. "But when you're in the moment you're just trying to win that game at hand, just staying aggressive and keep competing. That's where we get all of our success from."
It didn't come without work, at least on Friday. Twice, ASU built more than 10-point leads only to see UALR chip away.
Carter and Deven Simms, who had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, each made three pointers to put ASU up 27-14 with 5:25 left in the first half, but UALR responded with a 10-0 run to get within 28-24.
UALR's Oliver Black's basket at the buzzer made it 33-26 at halftime and five consecutive defensive stops to start the second half helped the Trojans get within 33-31. UALR (13-14, 4-10), which is now assured of a losing Sun Belt record, took the lead on a Black free throw to make it 36-35, then again on a Jalen Jackson basket to make it 38-37.
ASU then went on a 16-0 run -- a 3-minute, 58-second stretch -- that included 10 points from Simms and Carter diving on a loose ball that led to a Jahmiah Simmons basket to give the Red Wolves a 43-38 lead. UALR committed five consecutive turnovers in a stretch similar to a 16-1 run that led to Monday's loss at Texas-Arlington.
"I think it's a little bit of everything," said Flanigan on his team's lapses that have marred the last two games. "Lack of toughness, lack of discipline. Ultimately, all that stuff falls on me."
ASU made 7 of 18 three-pointers, but was only 1 of 6 in the second half. Instead, ASU made up the difference at the free-throw line. The Red Wolves made 16 of 27 free throws for the game, including 13 of 20 in the second half. UALR made 3 of 8 free throws for the game.
McCasland said that was part of ASU's focus Friday.
"To compete physically without fouling, that was great," he said.
His team wasn't so great to open the second half when three of its first six possessions ended with turnovers and none of the other three produced points either, as UALR got a jumper from Maurius Hill, a layup from Marcus Johnson Jr. and a free throw from Black to get within 33-31.
"We were a little nonchalant," McCasland said. "Part of that is on me. I have to make sure we keep fresh guys out there."
But ASU seized control with the 16-0 run when it scored on 8 of 11 possessions. Carter then finished it off with another big shot. This time, it helped ASU pull even with Texas-Arlington, which plays at Georgia State today.
"We just have guys that never stop playing, never stop competing," Carter said. "When things go wrong for us, we don't just let that take us out of our game completely. We might go through a little lapse of miscommunication, or breakdown, but we just keep competing."
Sports on 02/18/2017