National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arkansas St. 69, Mississippi St. 55
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi
Officials: # Ron Groover, # Antinio Petty, # Olandis Poole
Attendance: 5390

Arkansas State 69, Mississippi State 55: Sean Gardner scored 22 points to lead three scorers in double figures as the visiting Red Wolves handed the Bulldogs their fourth consecutive loss.

Cameron Golden added 15 points and Nouhoum Bocoum scored 13 points as Arkansas State (3-4) - which shot 36.5 percent from the field in losing its past two games - hit 52.2 percent of its shots to defeat Mississippi State (5-4) for the first time since 1956. Gardner finished 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

Roquez Johnson tied a career high with 20 points off the bench to provide the lone consistent offense for the Bulldogs, who shot 32.3 percent from the field and have lost four non-conference games in a row for the first time since 1996. Fred Thomas, who entered the game fifth in the SEC in 3-point shooting, finished 0-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Golden scored eight of the Red Wolves’ first 12 points as Arkansas ran out to an eight-point advantage a little more than three minutes into the contest, but the Bulldogs responded with 11 consecutive points to go ahead 15-12 on Fallou Ndoye’s jumper with 13:35 to play. Gardner’s 3-pointer with less than nine minutes remaining gave Arkansas State a 22-21 lead, and the Red Wolves closed the half on a 13-6 run to lead 35-27 at intermission.

Gardner made three 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes of the second half, the last one giving Arkansas State a 49-38 advantage. The Bulldogs drew within 51-44 on I.J. Ready’s 3-pointer with 8 ½ minutes left, but the Red Wolves scored nine of the next 13 points, going ahead 60-48 on Gardner’s fifth 3-pointer of the night with 6:27 remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arkansas State’s leading scorer, Anthony Livingston, finished with eight points – nine below his average. … Johnson scored 12 points in the opening half but the rest of the Bulldogs combined for only 15 as Mississippi State shot 32.4 percent in the first half. … Mississippi State dropped to 60-12 against Sun Belt Conference competition.
Top Game Performances
 
Arkansas St.   Mississippi St.
Sean Gardner 22 Scoring Roquez Johnson 20
P.J. Hardwick 7 Assists Trivante Bloodman 1
Nouhoum Bocoum 8 Rebounds Roquez Johnson 7
Nouhoum Bocoum 5 Free Throws Made Roquez Johnson 4
Nouhoum Bocoum 2 Steals Demetrius Houston 2
Nouhoum Bocoum 2 Blocks Oliver Black 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Arkansas St. 69 52.2 8-19 13-24 13 36 3 4 14
Mississippi St. 55 32.3 3-17 10-12 4 30 2 7 9