Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The UALR men's basketball team (7-1) opened the second half of Saturday night's contest on a 32-3 run, and coasted to an eventual 73-36 win over John Brown University (7-4) at the Jack Stephens Center.
UALR led by just two points at the half, 23-21, after a sluggish first 20 minutes, but turned up their defensive intensity in the second half, as John Brown shot just 13.6 percent from the field (3-of-22) and committed 18 turnovers.
“We weren't ready to go tonight. We didn't have that same pop that we have to have. That's the one constant that we have to bring every time,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We approached this game the exact same way that we have every other game this year. (John Brown) is a good basketball team. Clark (Sheehy) does a really good job with his guys. They run good motion. They're not predictable and they've got a number of guys who can shoot it. I thought they cut us up in the first half.”
Three Trojans scored in double figures in the win, led by 12 points off the bench from sophomore Mike Smith. Sophomore Steven Moore added 11 points and five assists, while junior John Fowler tallied 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals.
Joel Tesis led the Golden Eagles with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the loss. James Manthe added nine points and three assists for the visitors, but accounted for 10 of the team's 27 turnovers on the night.
UALR extended its win streak to five games by overcoming a flat first half in which the Trojans were outrebounded 17-to-15 and shot just 37.5 percent from the field. Just over three minutes into the game, Shields decided to send a message to his players and yanked his entire starting lineup at the 16:54 mark.
Junior Lekheythan Malone, playing in his first game since tearing his MCL during UALR's Nov. 4 exhibition game, gave the Trojans a spark off the bench, scoring a team-high five points in the first half. The Dallas, Texas-native played 12 minutes on the night, finishing with eight points, two steals and a rebound.
“It was good to have his energy and intensity back in the lineup,” said Shields. “It's hard when a guy comes back in after five weeks and has only had one practice. Considering all that, I thought he gave us a good 12 minutes.”
JBU led 21-19 after a bucket in the paint by John Williams with 2:43 remaining in the first half, but a three pointer by Malone and a free throw by junior De'Andre Eggins allowed the Trojans to take a 23-21 lead into the break.
The Trojans came out of the locker room a different team, scoring 13 unanswered points at the start of the half after junior Shane Edwards got things going with a steal and a fastbreak dunk.
The Golden Eagles went scoreless over the first 5:29 of the second half, finally getting on the board off a layup by Andrius Mikutis at the 14:31 mark. After Davaughn Jackson made 1-of-2 foul shots to pull JBU within 17 points, 41-24, the Trojans rattled off a 14-0 run to cap off their 32-3 run and take a 55-24 lead with 7:36 remaining.
John Brown's roughest stretch of the game came between media timeouts at 11:40 and 7:42, as the Golden Eagles did not attempt a single shot and committed eight turnovers.
The Trojans shot 46.6 percent from the field on the night, including 52.9 percent in the second half, and held the Golden Eagles to a .267 shooting percentage. UALR racked up 19 assists, led by five a piece from Moore and junior Brandon Patterson, and collected a season-high 15 steals.
UALR returns to action Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. when it opens Sun Belt Conference play against Florida International at the Jack Stephens Center.
