Red Wolves Dominate Early, Cruise Past Bowling Green 91-54
The Arkansas State Red Wolves established control from the opening minutes and never let up, rolling to a 91-54 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday afternoon inside First National Bank Arena.
The 37-point win marks Arkansas State’s largest margin of victory against a Division I opponent since a 99-56 win over Central Arkansas on Nov. 24, 2013. The result also allowed the Red Wolves to complete a season sweep in the MAC-SBC Challenge for the first time since the event began in the 2023–24 season.
Christian Harmon led all scorers with 18 points, while TJ Caldwell added 14. Aly Tounkara finished with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds to record his second career double-double, and Jaxon Ellingsworth chipped in 10 points. Chandler Jackson had a well-rounded performance, posting eight assists and a season-best four steals.
Arkansas State shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field, including 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from three-point range. The Red Wolves also controlled nearly every statistical category, outscoring Bowling Green in points off turnovers (17-9), points in the paint (38-28), second-chance points (15-1), fast-break points (16-13), and bench scoring (39-16).
A-State set the tone early with a 10-1 run to open the game, sparked by three-pointers from Harmon and Matt Haymanalong with a layup from Tounkara. The stretch lasted nearly eight minutes and included three shot-clock violations and a five-second violation forced by the Red Wolves’ defense.
Bowling Green scored its first field goal at the 12:06 mark of the first half and briefly cut the deficit to three points, but Arkansas State quickly regained momentum. A 22-12 run created separation, and Harmon’s back-to-back three-pointers pushed the lead to 16.
The Red Wolves closed the half on a decisive 23-2 run, capped by a layup from Joey Chammaa, to take a 40-14 lead into the locker room. Bowling Green shot just 16.7 percent (4-of-24) in the first half, and the 14 points allowed set a new arena record for fewest points surrendered in a half by an A-State team, surpassing the previous mark of 16 set by Louisiana Tech on Jan. 6, 1996.
Arkansas State continued to build on the advantage in the second half, pushing the lead past 30 points less than two minutes in. The margin eventually reached as many as 42 points before Bowling Green scored late, but the outcome was long decided. Chudi Dioramma capped the scoring with a layup in the final minute as the Red Wolves extended their home non-conference winning streak to 15 games.
Arkansas State returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Wednesday, Feb. 11, hosting ULM Warhawks at 7 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.