Box Score MOBILE, Ala. ? Western Kentucky University earned a spot in Tuesday's Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship game by knocking off No. 2 seed UALR (20-11), 70-55, on Monday night at the Mitchell Center. The Hilltoppers (26-6) took the lead for good with a 17-4 first-half run, then shot 50.0 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.
UALR fell behind by 14 points in the second half, 38-24, but rallied to cut the deficit to six points, 46-40, behind the three-point marksmanship of freshman Matt Mouzy ? who hit all four of his three pointers in the second half.
But with WKU's lead down to six, Ty Rogers delivered a crucial three-point play for the Hilltoppers to extend the lead to nine points, 40-49. Two free throws by Courtney Lee and a dunk by Jeremy Evans pushed WKU's lead to 13 points, and the Hilltoppers led by double digits the rest of the way.
“First of all, you have to give Western Kentucky credit,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “Darrin (Horn) has done a phenomenal job with this basketball team.
“I thought a big play in the game was when we cut it down to six points, had the shot clock running down on (WKU), and Ty Rogers made a championship play.”
Evans was one of four Hilltoppers to score in double figures, leading all players with 16 points off 6-of-7 shooting. Tyrone Brazelton added 15 points, while Lee and Rogers chipped in 12 points a piece for WKU.
Sophomore Steven Moore tied Mouzy for the team lead in scoring with 12 points a piece, with Mouzy going 4-for-9 from three-point range and Moore dishing out a game-high five assists. UALR committed 17 turnovers on the night, and shot a season-low 25.0 percent at the foul line (3-for-12).
Senior Terrance Akins went 2-for-4 from three-point range in the loss, which brings his career total to 126 three pointers and pushes him past Derek Fisher (125 three pointers) for eighth place on the school's all-time list.
WKU took a 27-19 lead into the intermission after putting together a 17-4 run, fueled by six points from Brazelton. The Trojans had the hot hand at the start of the game, making six of their first 10 field goal attempts to take a 13-10 lead with 12:17 to go.
Junior John Fowler picked the pocket of WKU's Orlando Mendez-Valdez at midcourt, which led to a fast break dunk for the Blytheville, Ark.-native and put UALR ahead 13-10. Unfortunately, the Trojans would go just 3-of-15 from the field over the final 12 minutes.
Lee scored the first two points of WKU's 17-4 run, and Rogers followed with a three pointer to put the Hilltoppers ahead, 15-13. Brazelton scored the final six points of the run, capping it off with a jumper at the 2:19 mark to give WKU a 27-17 lead.
Fowler got a dunk at the buzzer to snap a 3:22 scoring drought, and make it a 27-19 contest at the half. The Trojans shot just 36.0 percent from the field in the first half, including a 1-of-8 effort from three-point range, and committed nine turnovers.
The Trojans trailed by seven, 29-22, near the start of the second half after Moore hit his second three pointer, but the Hilltoppers rattled off nine-unanswered points to build a 14-point lead, 38-24. Rogers hit two three pointers during the 9-0 spurt, which A.J. Slaughter capped off with a layup at the 14:25 mark.
Trailing by 14, UALR got hot from beyond the arc, hitting four three pointers over the next 4:34 to cut its deficit to six points. Mouzy accounted for three of the four three pointers, the last of which cut the Hilltoppers' lead to six points, 46-40, with 9:51 left to play.
With his team's lead down to six, Rogers delivered a clutch three-point play to extend WKU's lead back to nine points, and the Trojans never got any closer the rest of the way.
