Pinion has 22 points as Arkansas State beats No. 16 Memphis 85-72

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Joseph Pinion had 22 points and eight rebounds, Dyondre Dominguez added 19 points and Arkansas State built a double-digit first-half lead to beat No. 16 Memphis 85-72 on Sunday.

Pinion was 7 of 13 from the floor and 5 of 11 from outside the arc, giving the Red Wolves their second straight win and their first over a ranked team since 1991. Taryn Todd finished with 17 points for Arkansas State (7-3).

PJ Haggerty led Memphis (7-2) with 29 points, and Dain Dainja finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Arkansas State held a double-digit lead for most of the game and led 68-57 with 8 minutes left. That was enough for the Red Wolves to defeat the Tigers, snapping a seven-game losing streak to Memphis.

Takeaways

Arkansas State: The Red Wolves certainly got the nationally ranked Tigers’ attention in the first half after they shot 7 of 18 from 3-point range and built an 18-point lead. The lead got to single digits a couple of times in the second half, but Arkansas State answered the pressure.

Memphis: The Tigers suffered through a miserable first half, shooting under 20% late in the half. They turned up their defensive pressure, which cut into the lead, but Memphis never made a serious threat.

Key moment

Memphis got within 60-53 with 11 minutes left, but Arkansas State went on a 12-6 run that included 3-pointers from Pinion, Todd and Kobe Julien to stretch the Red Wolves’ lead to 75-60 with 6:29 left in the game.

Key stat

Arkansas State’s last win over a ranked team was when it defeated then-No. 21 New Orleans 76-65 in 1991.

Up next

Arkansas State hosts UT-Arlington on Thursday, and Memphis travels to Clemson on Saturday.

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