Box Score MIAMI, Fla. ? The UALR men's basketball team matched its season high by making 11 three pointers in a convincing 78-57 win at Florida International (9-15, 4-7) on Saturday night. Sophomore Matt Mouzy went 5-of-7 from three-point range on his way to a career-high 23-point performance, helping the Trojans (16-6, 9-2) pick up their fifth-consecutive road win.
The Trojans shot 50.0 percent from the field as a team, including an 11-of-16 effort from three-point range (57.9 pct.), and outrebounded the Golden Panthers 35-to-25 with 13 offensive rebounds. Mouzy led all players with 23 points, while junior Steven Moore chipped in 17 points and went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
“Rebounding was very important tonight against a very long, athletic team that is good on the boards. Our goal coming in was to have a plus-seven rebounding margin and we were plus-ten,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We were a much smarter team tonight finishing the game then we were on Thursday night. We valued the basketball, recognized the score and were able to run the clock when we needed to.”
The Trojans closed out the first half with a 13-0 run, holding FIU scoreless over the final 5:42, to take a 37-28 lead into the break. The Golden Panthers battled back behind the play of Russell Hicks and Alex Galindo to cut their deficit to four, 55-51, but the Trojans responded with another 13-0 run to put FIU away for good.
Hicks and Galindo combined to score 16 of the team's first 23 points at the start of the second half, helping FIU pull within four, 55-51, off a three pointer from Michael Dominguez with 11:05 to go. With the lead down to four, junior Mike Smith delivered a basket in the paint to extend UALR's lead to six, 57-51. Mouzy followed Smith's bucket by converting six-consecutive foul shots, two of which came after a technical on Galindo. Senior John Fowler, who finished with 12 points on the night, closed out the run with a jumper and a three pointer to put the Trojans on top, 68-51, with 6:24 to go. Fowler went 5-of-7 from the field and grabbed a team-high six rebounds in the win.
FIU was able to use its distinct size advantage to bottle up the Trojans on the inside, but the trio of Mouzy, Moore and Fowler carried UALR through by combining to score 52 of the team's 78 points off 15-of-27 shooting.
“Shane (Edwards) had to work so hard on the defensive end tonight because of his size disadvantage, that it was really important for our guards to pick up the slack offensively,” said Shields. “I thought Brandon (Patterson) played really well tonight too, with eight points, four assists and only two turnovers in 32 minutes.”
Hicks led the Golden Panthers with 15 points, going 7-of-9 from the foul line, with Galindo adding 13 points and five boards off the bench. FIU shot just 33.3 percent from the field in the first half, but rebounded to shoot at a .478 clip over the final 20 minutes.
UALR closed out the first half on a 13-0 run, with 11 points from Mouzy, to take a 37-28 lead into the break. UALR trailed 28-24 with 5:43 remaining after a three-point play by Galindo, but Mouzy gave the Trojans a spark by making four-consecutive shots (three from three-point range) as the Trojans rattled off 13-unanswered points while holding FIU scoreless for the final 5:42.
Fowler and Moore carried the scoring load for most of the first half, with the duo combining to score 19 of the team's first 24 points. Moore scored 12 first-half points, going 3-for-3 from three-point range, but left the game with 5:03 remaining after picking up his second foul.
Mouzy picked up the slack for the Trojans with Moore out of the game, following up a jumper by Patterson with his first of three-straight three pointers, as UALR reclaimed the lead 29-28. Two more threes and an 18-foot jumper by Mouzy sent the Trojans into the locker room with a nine-point lead, 37-28.
The Trojans opened the game by going 1-of-8 from the field, but connected on 13-of-21 the rest of the way to shoot 48.3 percent in the half. UALR shot a blistering 70.0 percent from three-point range (7-of-10) over the first 20 minutes, with Mouzy going 4-for-6 and Moore making all three of his attempts.
UALR returns to action Saturday night, when it hosts the Denver Pioneers at 7 p.m.
