Arkansas State Shines Defensively in Win Over Bowling Green

In a season full of defensive shortcomings, Arkansas State men’s basketball turned in what might have been their best showing yet in a 91-54 win over Bowling Green.

The Red Wolves brought intensity on defense from the opening tip. The Falcons did not score a field goal until there were just over 12 minutes to go in the first half. Whenever a Bowling Green player drove to the basket, they were met by a wall of red jerseys primed to contest a shot.

The Red Wolves managed to force multiple shot clock violations over the first five minutes of the game, and carried that momentum through the opening period. Bowling Green converted on just four of their 24 field goals in the opening half.

While the defense roared, the offense needed time to rev up. By the time Javontae Campbell finally gave the Eagles their first score, Arkansas State had only tallied 10 points of their own. A 10-1 lead was quickly chopped down to 10-7, but the Red Wolves woke up. They outscored Bowling Green 30-7 through the remainder of the first half.

When the halftime buzzer sounded, it was 40-14. Three of Arkansas State’s last four games have come down to the last few possessions. This one was all but over in the first half.

Christian Harmon registered a trio of three-pointers and poured in 12 of the Red Wolves’ 40 points. He would finish the game with 18 points to lead the team.

In the second half, Arkansas State took their foot off the defensive gas, but they never slowed down offensively. The Red Wolves converted on just over 58% of their field goal attempts and about 43% of their three-pointers in the last 20. That all resulted in 51 points—39 of those coming from the bench.

Arkansas State has continued to show that their real offensive strength is their scoring depth. Aly Toukarna, TJ Caldwell and Jaxon Ellingsworth joined Harmon as double-digit scorers, while Matt Hayman and Jalen Hampton both scored nine points.

Inside Access to tonight’s Red Wolves Hard Hat Award winner: Aly Tounkara

Presented by Farm Bureau Arkansas#WolvesUp pic.twitter.com/mdzN0PtJye

— Arkansas State Men’s Basketball (@AStateMB) February 8, 2026

Toukarna was named the team’s hard hat winner. He snagged 10 rebounds and added three blocks to go along with his 11 points. It marked his first double-double as a member of the Red Wolves.

While Bowling Green had three players register double-digit points, none of the trio of Campbell (13), Josiah Shackelford (13), or Sam Towns (10) shot better than 33% from the field. Only two other Eagles scored five or more points. Mayar Wol and Justin Thomas both started, but failed to make a basket in the run of play.

Bowling Green’s 54 points are the fewest scored by an Arkansas State opponent this season. Since the Red Wolves’ loss against Georgia State on Jan. 24, the team has allowed fewer points in each consecutive game.

The increased defensive effort is finally paying off—Arkansas State now has two-straight wins for the first time since beating Troy and Texas State on Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, respectively. They will look to extend that streak to three games when ULM comes to town on Wednesday.

The Warhawks started the season 0-11 in conference play, but earned their first Sun Belt win with a strong effort at Old Dominion earlier this week.

Krystian Lewis and MJ Russell lead the Warhawk offense, averaging 17 and 16.1 points per game, respectively. Neither player is particularly efficient, but they are strong free throw shooters who can punish teams in foul trouble.

ULM has the 11th-ranked offense, and last-ranked defense in the Sun Belt. That win over ODU was their only road win this season, but the Red Wolves would be foolish to overlook them. Each of the Warhawks’ last four games have been single-digit wins or losses. If Arkansas State stumbles and fails to respect their opponent, ULM could pull off an upset.