Box Score
Trojans fall at Middle Tennessee
Jan. 10, 2005
Box score
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- UALR fell behind by double
digits midway through the first half and never got back on track, falling
to Middle Tennessee, 85-50, Monday night in Murfreesboro.
The Trojans move to 9-5 on the year and 1-1 in Sun
Belt Conference play. The Blue Raiders improve to 11-4 and 1-0.
A four-minute scoring drought by UALR combined with
the Blue Raiders 67.9 shooting percentage equaled a 45-14 Trojan deficit
at the half. UALR's offensive output in the half was a season low,
breaching the 16 points the Trojans scored in the first half in a 64-51
loss at Southwest Missouri State on Dec. 4.
Darius Eason led UALR with eight points; Jarryd
Knight, Zack Wright and Richard Hardman scored seven each.
MTSU had four players in double figures, with Mike
Dean leading the Blue Raider attack with 19 points.
The Trojans were within two, 9-7, with 13:45 to play
in the first half before Middle Tennessee went on a 20-2 run to take a
29-9 lead with 7:38 remaining.
MTSU continued the run to open the second half,
outscoring UALR 8-2 to open the period, and eventually took a 60-20 lead
with 14:36 left in the game.
Over the final seven minutes of the game, however,
the Trojans outscored Middle Tennessee 19-5. The Blue Raiders held an
80-31 advantage with 7:16 remaining. Knight knocked down consecutive
three-pointers and Brandon Freeman worked inside for a pair of layups to
spark the run.
The Trojans must now regroup before hosting Western
Kentucky on Thursday, and then facing Middle Tennessee again on Saturday.
Both of those games begin at 7 p.m. at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock.
