LITTLE ROCK ? Solomon Bozeman and Mike Smith combined for 47 points on Sunday afternoon but it wasn't enough to lead UALR to victory, as Harding University shocked the Trojans with an 80-77 upset at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to take a 74-71 lead with 1:49 to go, but the Bisons got stops on UALR's next three possessions to reclaim the lead and Trent Morgan went 4-for-4 at the foul line over the final 11 seconds to seal the win.
Harding shot 46.3 percent from the floor and went 10-of-21 from three-point range, while forcing the Trojans into 20 turnovers. Stephen Blake gave the Bisons a boost off the bench by scoring a team-high 18 points off 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range.
“I've always respected the job Jeff Morgan does and this is the reason we play them in exhibition games, because we know we are going to be challenged,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We know we have to be sound defensively, value the basketball and rebound or stuff like this happens. You have to give them credit because they made shots.”
Bozeman led all players with 27 points in the losing effort after converting 7-of-14 from the field and 13-of-14 at the foul line. Smith chipped in 20 points off 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Harding's Sam Brown and Morgan contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively, while Matt Ragsdale added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the win.
After trailing for most of the game, the Trojans reclaimed the lead, 67-64, off a three-point play by Bozeman with 5:31 remaining. It marked UALR's first lead since holding a 22-21 edge at the 5:11 mark of the first half.
Trailing 68-67, Bozeman put the Trojans back on top with another three-point play, then delivered a jumper to give UALR a 72-68 lead with 2:27 remaining. Down by four, the Bisons pulled within a point off a three pointer by Matt Garner.
Sophomore Lionel Foster sank a pair of free throws to extend UALR's lead back to three points, 74-71, with 1:49 to go, and the Trojans looked to be on the verge of putting the game away after forcing a Harding turnover on the Bisons' ensuing possession.
Down by three, Harding managed to get a stop on UALR's next three possessions (two turnovers and a missed jumper), and Blake came through with his fourth three pointer of the game at the 1:12 mark to tie the game at 74-all. Sam Brown then scored a bucket in the paint with 35 seconds to go to put the Bisons ahead for good, 76-74.
“It's like I told our team, I'll take complete responsibility for being where we are from a defensive standpoint, but we've all got to look at ourselves in the mirror. This is stuff we've been preaching for 18-19 practices,” said Shields. “We have got to get better at sustaining defensive intensity, keeping constant ball pressure with the ability to contain the ball, and be able to block out and rebound the ball. There are a number of ways we are not sound defensively right now.”
Junior Alex Garcia-Mendoza totaled nine points and five rebounds in his first outing with the Trojans, while sophomore Courtney Jackson chipped in eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
The Trojans shot 48.9 percent from the field and 76.3 percent from the foul line, but converted just 2-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc. UALR outrebounded Harding 35-to-31 on the day, but surrendered 10 offensive boards to the smaller Bisons.
“This should certainly be a learning experience for us,” said Shields. “It should be a very humbling experience for all of us, no disrespect to Harding intended.”
Harding took a 42-36 lead into the break after converting 7-of-12 three-point attempts in the first half. Blake fueled the Bisons' first-half charge by coming off the bench to hit 3-of-4 from long range on his way to a team-high 13 points over the first 20 minutes.
Bozeman shouldered the load for UALR's offense at the start of the game, scoring nine of the team's first 10 points as UALR built an early 10-8 lead. The Bisons responded with a 10-2 run to take an 18-12 advantage with 8:56 remaining.
In a back-and-forth first half which saw six tie scores and seven lead changes, the Trojans used a 7-0 spurt, capped off by a bucket from junior Montrell Thornton, to go on top 19-18 at the 6:25 mark.
UALR trailed by a point, 29-28, after a pair of free throws by junior Matt Mouzy, but the Bisons used a quick 8-0 run, with a three-point play by Ragsdale and a three-pointer from Blake, to take a 37-30 lead.
Two free throws from Blake gave Harding its biggest lead of the half, 42-33, with 34 seconds to go, but Bozeman hit three free throws down the stretch to make it a 42-36 contest at the break.
UALR returns to action Friday, Nov. 13 when it travels to Oxford, Miss. to open the regular season against Ole Miss.
