Fields, Hicks lead Arkansas State over Appalachian State, 67-65 in Sun Belt Conference Tournament

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Arkansas State advances to Sun Belt final on buzzer-beating winner

Freddy Hicks drains the winning basket as time expires to give Arkansas State a 67-65 win over Appalachian State.

Updated: Mar 10, 2024, 10:17 pm

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- — Caleb Fields led Arkansas State with 23 points and Freddy Hicks scored the game-winning jump shot with one second left as the Red Wolves took down Appalachian State 67-65 on Sunday night in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The No. 4 seed Red Wolves play second-seeded James Madison or No. 11 seed Texas State on Monday when they make their first championship game appearance since 2007.

Appalachian State trailed by 11 with 15:20 to play but took a 65-63 lead when Myles Tate hit a 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining. Caleb Fields tied it with a layup 17 seconds later and neither team scored again until Hick pump faked at the right elbow to get his defender in the air and hit the winning shot.

Fields also contributed six assists for the Red Wolves (18-15). Hicks added 19 points while going 8 of 9 from the field while he also had seven rebounds. Taryn Todd shot 4 for 14, including 1 for 3 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points. The Red Wolves picked up their seventh straight victory.

The Mountaineers (27-6) were led in scoring by Terence Harcum, who finished with 15 points. Myles Tate added 11 points for Appalachian State. Justin Abson had 10 points and seven rebounds. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Mountaineers.

Arkansas State went into halftime ahead of Appalachian State 39-29. Fields scored 12 points in the half. Fields led Arkansas State with 11 points in the second half.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.