The Arkansas State men’s basketball team limited UT Arlington to a .292 field goal percentage and got a double-double from forward Norchad Omier as it collected a 58-49 road win over the Mavericks on Saturday at College Park Center.
Arkansas State (16-9, 7-6) allowed its fewest points versus a Sun Belt Conference team since defeating Louisiana-Monroe 76-45 in 2017. A-State limited UTA (11-15, 7-8) to just 19-of-65 shooting, resulting in the lowest field goal percentage by a league opponent versus the Red Wolves since they held Little Rock to a .241 mark in 2014.
Omier led A-State with 22 points and 16 rebounds, both game highs, as he collected his 17th double-double of the season and 32nd of his career. Junior guard Desi Sills added 10 points for the Red Wolves to join Omier in double figures.
Arkansas State finished the outing with a .431 shooting percentage and posted 41 rebounds to UTA’s 38. The Red Wolves also dished out 16 assists on their 22 made field goals, while UTA handed out nine.
The game’s first 10 minutes featured five ties and three lead changes, but the Red Wolves took the advantage for good on a second-chance bucket by sophomore forward Antwon Jackson that made the score 16-15. A-State’s lead reached as much as seven points in the first half, and it took a 26-22 edge into the break.
The Red Wolves scored 12 of the first 18 second-half points to extend its lead to double figures, 38-28, for the first time with 9:57 remaining. They extended their advantage to as much 16 points, 50-34, with 1:28 remaining before going on to the nine-point victory.
UTA was led by two players scoring in double figures, including David Azore and Patrick Mwamba with 11 points each.
The Red Wolves now return home for their final two regular-season games, next hosting Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 7:00 p.m.
