LITTLE ROCK ? Junior Alex Garcia-Mendoza scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed seven boards to help the UALR men's basketball team (4-5) to a 78-69 win over Lyon College on Sunday afternoon. The Trojans led by as many as 26 points in the second half before the Scots (3-7) rallied down the stretch against UALR's reserves.
UALR led by 18 points at the break, 43-25, after shooting 55.2 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes, and held a 69-49 edge with 8:19 to go in the second half after a layup by sophomore Courtney Jackson. The Trojans managed just one more field goal over the final 8:18, however, as Lyon used a 14-2 run to pull within nine, 72-63, with 3:27 remaining. The Scots were unable to get any closer, though, as junior Solomon Bozeman delivered a three-point play and the Trojans went 4-of-4 at the foul line over the final 1:20 to fend off the upset bid.
Lyon's Andy Lee led all scorers with 22 points, going 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Lee was one of four Scots to score in double-figures, with James Jackson and Quinn Cooper chipping in 15 and 13 points, respectively.
UALR outshot the Scots 47.3 percent to 38.9 percent on the night, but the Trojans connected on just 38.5 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half, including an 0-for-10 effort from three-point range. UALR made just 3-of-19 from three-point range in the game, while Lyon shot 40.9 percent from beyond the arc (9-of-22).
The Trojans played to a +12 rebounding margin on the glass, led by seven boards from Garcia-Mendoza, and outscored Lyon 34-to-10 in the paint. Bozeman and junior Matt Mouzy chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, while sophomore Lionel Foster totaled eight points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Junior Montrell Thornton scored six points and blocked five shots in 17 minutes off the bench, making him the first Trojan to record five blocks in a game since Rashad Jones-Jennings totaled six blocks against WKU on Feb. 17, 2007.
UALR ran out to an 11-point lead, 22-12, at the 9:10 mark of the first half, but Lyon used three pointers from Lee and Jackson to cut its deficit to five, 24-19, with 7:28 remaining. After pulling within five points off a jumper by Jackson, the Scots would make just one more field goal over the final 7:27.
With their lead cut to five, the Trojans ripped off a 13-0 run, with eight points from Mouzy, to go on top 37-19 with 3:08 left in the half. Mouzy and Lee led all players with 12 points in the first half, with Mouzy going 5-of-6 from the field (2-of-3 from three-point range).
UALR returns to action Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. when it takes on the Memphis Tigers at Verizon Arena.
