Box Score
Trojans rally for 69-66 win over Western Kentucky
Jan. 13, 2005
Box score
Brandon Freeman scored 25, Zack Wright came off the
bench to hit for 15 and Josh Jacobs nailed four consecutive free throws
with less than 30 seconds remaining as UALR rallied to take a 69-66 win
over Western Kentucky Thursday night at Alltel Arena.
The win -- UALR's 15th consecutive at Alltel Arena
-- improves the Trojans to 10-5 on the year and 2-1 in Sun Belt Conference
play. The Hilltoppers move to 10-3 and 0-1.
Western Kentucky was led by Antonio Haynes, who
scored 17. Anthony Winchester added 14 points while Courtney Lee and
Elgrade Wilborn combined to score 25.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team," UALR coach
Steve Shields said. "The way we bounced back from the loss at Middle
Tennessee on Monday, that shows the character of this team."
After the Trojans defeat at MTSU, Shields didn't
waste time in preparing his team to face Western Kentucky. On the bus ride
home from Murfreesboro, the players and coaches watched game film of the
Hilltoppers.
UALR went into halftime trailing WKU 32-29. Freeman
scored 19 in the first period and had played all 20 minutes. He just saw
nine minutes of action in the second half, however, before leaving with
leg cramps with 12:44 to play in the game. He came back in with 8:10
remaining but left again about one minute later.
With Freeman out, Shields turned to junior Elijah
Muldrow, who didn't play at all in the first period. Muldrow responded by
scoring three points, grabbing a rebound and blocking one shot.
"Eli was focused when he came off the bench,"
Shields said. "He was enthusiastic and energetic, and he played 11 quality
minutes for us."
Western Kentucky led by as many as eight in the
second half, as the Hilltoppers held a 45-37 advantage with 13:45 left.
Baskets by Freeman, Wright and Columbus Willis and a dunk by Muldrow tied
the game with 11:06 to play.
UALR took a 50-49 lead when Wright drained a trey
with 8:50 to play. WKU responded with a layup from Haynes, a trey by Danny
Rumph and two free throws from Lee to go back up by six, 56-50 with 7:02
remaining.
After Wright's two free throws at the 6:28 mark cut
the Western lead to four, Haynes hit a three-pointer to put the
Hilltoppers up by seven, 59-52, with 5:23 left.
A trey by Zack Graber and a jumper from Darius Eason
cut the lead to two, and Wright's layup with 2:43 left tied the game at
59-59.
Graber made another trey with 1:47 to play for a
three-point UALR lead, but WKU cut it back to one when Winchester hit two
free throws with 1:16 left. Wright hit a pair of free shots to put the
Trojans back up by three, and Jacobs hit two from the line for a
five-point advantage, 66-61, with 23 seconds left. After a WKU layup by
Haynes, Jacbos hit two more free throws to seal the win.
UALR now has little time to rest as the Trojans host
Middle Tennessee on Saturday. The Blue Raiders beat Arkansas State 70-68
Thursday in Jonesboro. Saturday's game at Alltel Arena is set for 7 p.m.
