Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The UALR men's basketball team (16-10, 8-7) snapped a five-game losing streak to Arkansas State (9-18, 4-12) with a commanding 82-52 win over the Indians on Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans blew the game open with a 21-4 first-half run and dominated the Indians inside, outscoring ASU 54-to-10 in the paint on their way to a season-best .556 field goal percentage.
“As good as this rivalry has been, and in my opinion it's the best in the Sun Belt Conference, to keep it as a rivalry, eventually you have to win a game,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We had three good practices leading up to this game, and I couldn't be more proud of our guys for their toughness and togetherness after a tough stretch where we lost four of five games.”
Sophomore Mike Smith led the Trojans in scoring for the third-straight game, going 5-of-9 from the field en route to a 12-point, nine-rebound effort. Junior Shane Edwards recorded his first career double-double in the win, tallying 10 points and a season-high 10 rebounds to help UALR to a +10 margin on the glass (39-to-29).
“It's a big win. Everybody knows that Arkansas State and UALR is a big rivalry game. It's very physical and very intense,” said Smith. “It was a must win for us to stay in the race for a championship ring, and that's all I'm thinking about.”
UALR matched its season low by committing just eight turnovers in the game (three in the first half) while dishing out 20 assists. Sophomore Steven Moore was the model of efficiency against ASU, racking up a career-high eight assists without a single turnover.
Senior Adrian Banks led the Indians with 14 points off the bench, while Shawn Morgan added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. ASU shot just 37.3 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers in the loss.
ASU led 3-0 at the start of the game after a three-pointer by Ryan Wedel, but the Trojans responded with nine-unanswered points and never trailed again. Smith was the catalyst early on, scoring the team's first five points of the game, and nine of its first 25.
Leading 13-9 at the 11:25 mark, the Trojans embarked on a 21-4 run over the next 7:29 to take a 34-13 lead with 3:56 remaining. UALR went 10-of-15 from the field during its 21-4 run, while the Indians shot just 2-of-9 from the floor and committed four turnovers.
UALR scored 10-unanswered points at the start of the run to push its lead to 23-9. Junior John Fowler closed the run with an offensive putback, then got a steal which led to a fastbreak dunk by Edwards after a behind-the-back pass from Fowler.
Banks (five) and Wedel (seven) combined to score ASU's final 12 points of the half, with a successful three-point play by Banks pulling the Indians within 13 points, 36-23, with 53 seconds to go. But Edwards got an offensive putback on the other end to make it a 38-21 contest at the break. Edwards' basket was UALR's 12th second-chance point of the half, off just seven offensive rebounds.
Holding a 15-point edge at the start of the second half, the Trojans rattled off a quick 12-2 run to push their lead to 25 points, 50-25, and erase any hopes of an ASU comeback. UALR's lead ballooned to 31 points, 61-30, after a tip-in by Edwards with 11:56 remaining, and the Trojans led by at least 22 points the rest of the way.
UALR returns to action Saturday night in Lafayette, La., with a pivotal SBC West Division matchup against the first-place Ragin' Cajuns.
“There can't be any complacency in our locker room,” added Shields. “We know we have a tough challenge coming up against the hottest team on our side.”
