Conway, SC – Contributed – Arkansas State men’s basketball outscored Coastal Carolina 11-3 in the final minute to secure a 70-66 win on Wednesday night inside the HTC Center.
It is the seventh road win of the season for the Red Wolves, one shy of the program record set in 1973-74 and matched in the 1986-87 and 2024-25 seasons. A-State has won seven-plus road games in a single season seven times since the 1963-64 campaign.
Christian Harmon led the team with 16 points while Joey Chammaa (13) and Matt Hayman (12) also reached double figures. Jalen Hampton posted a team-high 12 rebounds, his fifth consecutive contest with double-digit boards, and Chandler Jackson dished a team-leading five assists.
As a team, the Red Wolves shot 23-for-61 (37.7 percent) from the field, including 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) from three-point range, and 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) from the free-throw line. A-State outscored the Chanticleers 28-20 in the paint, 22-19 off turnovers and 20-19 off the bench.
The Red Wolves erased an early 4-0 deficit with a 9-0 run and held Coastal Carolina scoreless for 4:39 before a three-pointer closed the gap to two points. Chammaa and TJ Caldwell registered back-to-back three-pointers to open a 17-8 lead, but the Chanticleers answered with two of their own to make the score 17-14 with 7:33 remaining.
A three-point play from Chammaa preceded back-to-back three-pointers for the opposition that tied the game at 20-20. Both offenses warmed up in the final three minutes of the first half as Coastal Carolina outscored A-State 9-7, resulting in a 29-27 deficit entering intermission.
Both sides evenly exchanged the first 16 points of the second half, but following a layup for the opposition, Harmon recorded makes from beyond the arc and inside the paint to claim a 40-39 lead. The Chanticleers responded with a 10-5 run over the next 8:33 and created a four-point deficit with 8:12 remaining.
Chammaa kept the Red Wolves within striking distance by scoring the next five points for A-State, but a 7-2 run resulted in the largest deficit of the game at 59-52. The Scarlet and Black made it a one-possession game with 3:01 to go, but a jumper and two free throws allowed Coastal Carolina to take a 63-56 lead into the final two minutes.
Hayman sparked a comeback bid with three-pointers at the 1:20 and 0:49 marks to cut the deficit to a single point. Over the next seven seconds, Harmon swiped his third steal of the game on the inbound pass and scored on a layup to give A-State a 64-63 advantage.
A backcourt violation switched possession to the Scarlet and Black and Caldwell converted two free throw attempts for a three-point lead. However, a foul on a three-point attempt allowed Coastal Carolina to tie the game at 66-66 as A-State looked to score with 18 seconds left.
Jackson could not connect on a layup attempt and Hampton was unable to convert the putback with one second left, but basket interference on the putback attempt resulted in two points for A-State. The Chanticleers turned the ball over and Caldwell converted both free throw attempts on the ensuing possession to secure the victory.
A-State returns to Jonesboro to face Bowling Green in the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena.
