The high of the overtime win that carried the University of Arkansas at Little Rock home from Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend faded fast at the Jack Stephens Center on Friday night.
Texas State took the air out of the Trojans, jumping to a 23-6 advantage and leading by as many as 17 points in the first half on its way to a 63-59 road victory.
Caleb Asberry scored a game-high 18 points for the Bobcats, enough to help the visitors withstand some late punches and a Trojans comeback attempt that cut a 10-point advantage to four in the final 1:22.
"Let's be honest, they played better than us the whole game," UALR Coach Darrell Walker said. "We got just what we deserved."
The sluggish Trojans (7-5, 3-2 Sun Belt) were hampered offensively by 30.8% first-half shooting and 27.3% three-point shooting for the game. They led once in the opening minute before trailing the rest of the way while dropping their first home game since Jan. 11, 2020.
Ruot Monyyong scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double, but UALR was held to its lowest point total of the season.
Texas State (8-4, 2-1) got 16 points from Mason Harrell and 12 from Marlin Davis to pad Asberry's output.
Tempers flared in the closing minute when an altercation unfurled after Monyyong and Asberry got tied up under UALR's basket. The 10 players on the court found themselves in the middle of a shoving match that spilled toward the Trojans' bench.
Trojans guard Markquis Nowell and Davis of Texas State were ejected for throwing punches. Each team was assessed a technical foul, and Monyyong received one for his role in the altercation.
The teams will meet again at 4 p.m. today.
"I just saw some guys scrambling and getting into it," Walker said. "We lost our poise, which is very disappointing to me that we lose our poise like that in a good basketball game. But I thought the officiating crew did a great job."
The Bobcats attacked UALR with physical, pressure defense from the jump that forced Isaiah Palermo -- who went 0 of 4 from the field and scored zero points in his second start of the season -- and Marko Andric into early turnovers. The Trojans hit only 3 of their first 10 field goals over the game's opening 11:06, while the Bobcats countered with 9-of-11 shooting, capped by Asberry's foul-line jumper that handed Texas State the 23-6 lead.
Bobcats forward Alonzo Sule finished in the paint to put Texas State ahead 27-10 with 8:15 remaining in the half before UALR cut into the gap.
The Trojans slowed the game down with a 1-3-1 zone, and Nowell narrowed the deficit to eight points before the half, scoring nine consecutive points capped by a rainbow three-pointer in front of the Bobcats' bench.
UALR still entered the locker room trailing 34-25.
"In the first eight or nine minutes of the game, I thought we were very soft," Walker said. "The first eight, nine minutes of the game, we didn't make any shots. We didn't guard the way we were capable of playing the last four games."
The Trojans leaned on Nikola Maric after the break, and the forward scored nine of his 13 points and had all but one of his eight rebounds.
Maric's three-point play trimmed the deficit to 38-30 with 14:27 left, but the Bobcats responded with two three-pointers from Asberry and another by Isiah Small to restore a 15-point lead less than two minutes later.
Texas State maintained its double-digit advantage into the final two minutes when the punches were thrown under the basket with 55.5 left. Walker was unsure whether Nowell -- who missed the first two games of Sun Belt play due to disciplinary action -- will be available today.
"If we don't have Markquis, it won't be the first time we haven't had Markquis," Walker said. "We've got to get ready to get a win."
NCAA men's basketball rules mandate that any player who participates in a fight will be suspended for the next regular-season game.
MEN
ARKANSAS STATE 74,
LOUISIANA-MONROE 72
Caleb Fields scored 19 points and Arkansas State University escaped with a victory when Louisiana-Monroe missed a layup at the buzzer at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
Fields had a chance to seal the victory with :07 remaining, but he missed the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt. The Warhawks' Russell Harrison grabbed the rebound and missed the layup on the other end as time expired.
ASU (4-6, 1-2 Sun Belt Conference) led 40-36 at the half and never trailed in the final 20 minutes, although the teams were tied at 44-44 with 16:25 left. The Red Wolves held a 74-68 lead with 40 seconds remaining. Louisiana-Monroe (4-8, 2-3) closed to within 74-72 on Koreem Ozier's two free throws with 12 seconds left.
Malcolm Farrington came off the bench to add 15 points for ASU, while Caleb London scored 10. Norchad Omier led the Red Wolves with 12 rebounds.
Ozier led the Warhawks with 22 points, while Harrison had 18 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
Arkansas State held a 44-30 advantage on the boards but committed 22 turnovers compared to 10 for Louisiana-Monroe.
The Red Wolves were 27 of 57 (47.4%) from the floor and 9 of 15 (60.0%) from the free-throw line. The War Hawks were 28 of 65 (43.1) from the floor and 13 of 20 (65.0%) from the free throw line.
WOMEN
ARKANSAS STATE 64,
LOUISIANA-MONROE 50
Jireh Washington scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Arkansas State University rallied to post a victory over Louisiana-Monroe at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.
Louisiana-Monroe (2-7, 0-3 Sun Belt) was outscored 20-4 in the final 8:06.
The Warhawks led 29-23 at the half and 36-29 with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter before the Red Wolves (8-1, 3-0) went on their game-deciding run.
Louisiana-Monroe's Maddi Gatte hit a jumper with 8:34 remaining to give her team a 46-44 lead, but ASU scored the next 20 points while the War Hawks went scoreless for the next 7:40. Gatte broke the scoreless string when she turned an ASU turnover into a layup with 54 seconds to play.
Washington, who scored nine points in the fourth quarter, was 6 of 10 from the floor and 10 of 12 on free throws.
Morgan Wallace added 11 points, Trinitee Jackson led the Red Wolves in rebounds with 10 and Jada Stinson scored 9 points and handed out a team-high 4 assists.
Kierra Brimzy paced Louisiana-Monroe with 13 points.
ASU finished 17 of 45 (37.8%) from the floor and 24 of 28 (85.7%) from the free-throw line. Louisiana-Monroe was 20 of 40 (50%) from the floor and 6 of 10 (60%) from the free-throw line.
ASU held a 29-21 advantage on the boards. The Red Wolves were guilty of 19 turnovers, while the Warhawks committed 25.