Georgia Southern men's basketball fell to Arkansas State in its road Sun Belt opener 109-83 on Thursday.
The Eagles (1-13, 1-1 Sun Belt) fell victim to a torrid first half by the Red Wolves (5-9, 1-1) and couldn't stop the onslaught in the second half.
Despite trailing wire-to-wire, the Eagles kept it close in the early going. Avantae Parker sunk a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 30:26 at the under-eight, but that was as close as the Eagles would make it for the remainder of the game.
Arkansas State stormed to a 22-7 run to end the first frame, leading 59-40. It was the most first-half points the Eagles have allowed since 11/13/18 against George Mason, where they allowed 54.
The Red Wolves shot 57.6 percent in the first half and carried that over into the second, scoring at a 56.3 percent rate, also converting on over half of their three-point attempts.
Nate Brafford reached a new career high with 11, going 4-4 from the field during the game and reaching that plateau in the second half, but a 43-point outburst from the Eagles in the frame couldn't dent the final score of 109-83.
The 109 points were the most Georgia Southern has allowed since 2/13/10 at Appalachian State in a 111-83 loss.
Eren Banks led the way with 15 points as five Eagles reached double digits, with Jamar Franklin (13), Brafford (11), Tyren Moore (11) and Derrick Harris Jr. (11) all reaching the mark.
GS will look to bounce back on Saturday with a quick turnaround at ULM.
