Arkansas State drained 16 3-pointers and shot 54.1 percent from the floor en route to a 103-78 victory over Saint Louis Tuesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
SLU’s season comes to a close with a 19-15 record. The Red Wolves (25-10) advance to the NIT second round this weekend where they will play either North Texas or Furman.
Robbie Avila led the Bills with 22 points thanks partly to a career-high-tying five 3-pointers. Amari McCottry recorded his first-career double-double with career highs of 20 points (8-10 shooting) and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Swope chipped in with 16 points.
It was the final game of Gibson Jimerson’s storied SLU career. He leaves SLU with a school record of 2,428 points, 422 career 3-pointers, and 166 games played in his career.
Arkansas State was led by Izaiyah Nelson’s 26 points and 10 rebounds. He was 12-of-16 from the floor.
The Red Wolves led wire-to-wire. They drained 10 of their 16 3-pointers in the first half alone and took a 13-point lead into halftime.
Arkansas State kept its foot on the gas in the second half and led by as many as 30 points.
