ARKANASAS STATE 83, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 69

Deven Simms scored 22 points to lift Arkansas State University to a victory over Abilene Christian at the First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

Simms shot 9 of 11 from the floor including 2 of 3 three-pointers while grabbing 7 rebounds.

He was joined by Ty Cockfield, who had 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 7 of 13 from the floor. Grantham Gillard finished with 13 points while making 4 of 5 field goals and 4 of 5 free throws. Tamas Bruce finished with 13 points while making 7 of 8 free throws.

The Red Wolves led 40-25 at halftime, using an 18-5 run over 8 minutes.

ASU (1-1), which shot 56.0 percent (28 of 50) from the floor in the game, was 14 of 25 in the first half. The Red Wolves outrebounded the Wildcats 3321 and made 20-of-26 free throws to Abilene Christian’s 16 of 20. They forced 14 turnovers with 15 points coming off those miscues.

Abilene Christian (1-1) overcame a slow first half in which it shot 8 of 24 from the floor, to finish 25 of 49 (51 percent). However, the Wildcats shot 3 of 17 on three-pointers.

Jaylen Franklin led the Wildcats with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting 4 of 4 free throws. Jaren Lewis had 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting and 4 of 4 free throws.