Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The UALR men's basketball team (1-0) opened the 2007-08 season on Friday night by setting arena records for margin of victory and team rebounds in a 92-54 win over the University of the Ozarks.
UALR junior Brandon Patterson was one of five Trojans to score in double figures, finishing with a game-high 18 points. The Tucker, Ark.-native went 8-of-12 from the field and filled up the box score with eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
The Trojans took a 19-point lead into the break, and avoided a second-half letdown by opening the final 20 minutes with a 20-4 run ? fueled by three successful three-point conversions over the first 3:12. Ozarks never recovered, as the Trojans shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half.
“Everyone talks about wanting to play 40 minutes, but not many teams play 40 minutes, especially at this time of the year. We made progress tonight, but by no means are we close to playing 40 minutes at this point,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We need to continue to be mindful of our effort, our intensity and our enthusiasm as a group, and try and sustain it for extended periods of time.”
UALR dominated the glass on Friday night, enjoying a +31 rebounding margin by grabbing an arena-record 58 rebounds. Senior Rashad Moss fell one rebound shy of his first double-double, totaling 12 points and nine rebounds despite being limited to 14 minutes because of foul trouble.
Junior Shane Edwards, freshman Derrick Bails and Patterson added eight boards a piece to help the Trojans break the previous arena record of 52 team rebounds ? set against North Texas on Jan. 19, 2006.
The Trojans held a 29-point lead, 80-51, with 5:11 remaining, but answered a pair of free throws from Chris Clark by embarking on a 12-0 run. Senior Terrance Akins and Bails chipped in five points a piece during the 12-0 run to extend UALR's lead to 41 points, 92-51. A three pointer by the Eagles' Ty Allen brought the game to its 92-54 finale. The 38-point victory surpassed UALR's previous arena record of 29 points, set in last year's home opener against Central Methodist ? an 83-54 UALR win.
UALR shot 50.0 percent from the floor (37-of-74) on the night, while holding the Eagles to a paltry 29.6 shooting percentage (16-of-54). Edwards went 5-of-6 from the floor (2-2 from three-point range) en route 15 points. Sophomore Mike Smith chipped in 14 points, including eight in the first half, off a 6-of-7 effort from the field.
The Trojans racked up 20 assists in the win, led by a game-high six assists from both Patterson and sophomore Steven Moore. A native of Little Rock, Moore added a game-high four steals over 27 minutes.
“I thought our guys shared the basketball extremely well tonight, and I think that is becoming a strength of this team,” said Shields. “We have a bunch of unselfish guys who don't care about getting the credit.”
Habeeb Kareem was the only Eagle to score in double figures in the loss, finishing with a team-high 13 points off 4-of-8 shooting (5-of-7 from the line).
UALR returns to action on Monday, Nov. 12 when it takes on Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, Calif.
