Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? The UALR men's basketball team (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, dropping a 59-37 decision at Missouri State (3-2) after shooting just 12.5 percent from the field in the second half.
The Trojans trailed 33-23 at the break, but were unable to mount a run as they connected on just 3-of-24 attempts from the field in the second half and went 11:08 between field goals. The Trojans shot a meager 23.4 percent on the night (including a 1-for-12 effort from beyond the arc) and committed 21 turnovers. The loss marked the first time UALR scored under 40 points since losing at No. 8/9 Texas A&M on Nov. 27, 2006.
“You've got to give Missouri State credit. Cuonzo's staff purely kicked our butt tonight, in all phases of the game,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “They were very good defensively and really got after us, and we didn't handle it very well. They were the tougher team tonight, and there wasn't any doubt about that.”
The Trojans will look to rebound Monday night when they take on Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla.
“If someone would have told us at the start of the year we would be 5-1 after six games with the schedule we played, we would have taken it in a heartbeat,” said Shields. “We've got some things to work on, sure, but we're still 5-1.”
Missouri State broke open a one-point ballgame with a 12-1 first-half run, and put the game away with a 13-2 run in the second half which pushed the Bears' lead to 20 points.
Kyle Weems was one of three Bears to score in double figures, leading the team with 12 points off the bench. Chris Cooks and Spencer Laurie added 11 points a piece, while Ryan Jenke chipped in nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
UALR held the Bears under 40.0 percent from the field (39.1), but Missouri State converted 17-of-20 trips to the charity stripe (85.0 percent) and racked up 12 assists on its 18 made field goals. Laurie tallied a game-high seven assists and knocked down 3-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc.
Junior Steven Moore was the only Trojan to reach double figures on the night, scoring 14 points on the strength of an 8-for-10 showing at the foul line. Sophomore Matt Mouzy entered the game averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game, but went 0-for-7 from the field and managed just two points in the losing effort. He and Moore combined for 11 of the team's 21 turnovers.
UALR failed to get into any rhythm at the start of the game, falling into a 33-23 hole at the break after shooting 34.8 percent from the floor with 13 turnovers over the first 20 minutes. Missouri State played the majority of the half without the team's leading scorer, Cooks, who picked up his second foul with 14:58 on the clock and spent the rest of the half on the bench. But the Bears shot 45.5 percent from the field in the first half and went 10-for-12 at the foul line.
