Red Wolves fall late at Saint Mary’s despite Harmon’s career night

Arkansas State couldn’t hang on late Wednesday night, falling 85-72 to unbeaten Saint Mary’s despite a career night from Christian Harmon at University Credit Union Pavilion.

Harmon led the Red Wolves (3–2) with a career-best 21 points, hitting 8 of 17 from the floor and 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. Matt Hayman added 12 points, Royal Blue Smith scored 10, and Chandler Jackson finished with six assists.

A-State shot 37.7% from the field and 31% from three but stayed competitive by winning several key categories, including bench points (33–16), points in the paint (32–30) and points off turnovers (13–10).

The Red Wolves traded blows early, even briefly taking a 22-21 lead on Harmon’s second three of the night. But Saint Mary’s answered with a series of runs and pushed its lead to double digits late in the first half. A-State closed with a 6–1 spurt to trail 46–39 at the break.

Harmon opened the second half with another bucket, sparking an 8-3 run that trimmed the deficit to three. But every push by the Red Wolves was met with an answer, and a 3:24 scoring drought allowed the Gaels (5–0) to stretch the margin to 16 – —its largest of the night.

Harmon reached 20 points for the first time in his Division I career with a three-point play in the final minutes, but Saint Mary’s closed it out at the line.

A-State wraps up its road swing Friday at SMU. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN+.

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