Box Score JONESBORO, Ark. ? Senior Shane Edwards hit a jumper in the lane with 2.3 seconds remaining to lead the UALR men's basketball team (18-6, 11-2) to a 58-57 win over Arkansas State (13-11, 5-8) at the Convocation Center on Thursday night. The win over ASU marked the Trojans' ninth victory in the team's last 10 outings, and extended their road win streak to a school-record six games.
After trailing for the entire game, ASU took its first lead of the night, 57-54, off a three-point play by JeJuan Brown with 31.4 seconds remaining. Junior Mike Smith pulled UALR within one, 57-56, by sinking a pair of crucial foul shots with 20 seconds to go.
Leading 57-56, the Red Wolves committed a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play when Daniel Bryant lost control of the ball in front of UALR's goal with 15.3 seconds left. Down by one, the Trojans got the ball to Edwards and the Gilbert, Ariz.-native backed his defender into the paint and delivered his second game winner of the year ? the first of which came at South Alabama.
Edwards led all scorers with 16 points off 6-of-13 shooting, and tied senior Brandon Patterson for team-high honors with six rebounds. Sophomore Matt Mouzy chipped in 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half, by going 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. The victory was the 100th of head coach Steve Shields' career, making him just the third coach to win 100 games as head coach of the Trojans.
Bryant led the Red Wolves with 10 points off the bench, while Eric McKinney grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to help ASU outrebound the Trojans 42-to-40. The Trojans shot just 37.9 percent for the game, but held the Red Wolves to a .333 field goal percentage.
UALR looked like it was going to run away with the game at the start, making 5-of-7 from the field at the onset to build an 18-6 lead with 12:06 remaining. Leading 10-6, the Trojans ripped off eight-unanswered points, with three pointers from Patterson and senior John Fowler, to extend their lead to 12.
The Red Wolves weren't done yet, however, battling back to tie the game at 19-all as the Trojans went 6:56 between field goals ? going 0-for-7 with four turnovers during that stretch. Trailing by 12, ASU scored nine-unanswered points as part of a 13-1 run to tie the game at 19-all with 5:35 to go.
Tied at 19-all, sophomore Derrick Bails snapped UALR's field goal drought with back-to-back baskets in the paint, the first of which came at the 5:10 mark. Edwards followed with a three pointer to put the Trojans ahead by seven, 26-19, with 3:25 to go. A three pointer by Donald Boone brought ASU within four, 26-22, with 42 seconds left, but Patterson capped off the half with a layup to send UALR into the break with a 28-22 lead.
UALR held ASU to a .313 field goal percentage in the first half (10-of-32) and enjoyed a +10 rebounding margin (26-16) with 10 offensive boards over the first 20 minutes. Patterson led the team offensively with seven points at the break off 3-of-5 shooting.
The Trojans built their lead as high as 12 points, 37-25, near the start of the second half after a three pointer by Mouzy. UALR led 47-37 with 10:00 to go, but ASU scored seven-unanswered points to make it a three-point game, 47-44.
With the lead cut to three, Fowler made 1-of-2 at the foul line then came through with a basket in the paint to put the Trojans ahead by six, 50-44. Mouzy followed with a three pointer moments later to give UALR a nine-point lead, 53-44, with 3:59 remaining.
Down by nine, ASU put together a 13-1 run, with seven points from Bryant, to take its first lead of the night, 57-54. After a three pointer by Bryant tied the game at 54-all, Brown delivered a three-point play to put ASU ahead for the first time. Despite seeing its lead evaporate, UALR got two clutch free throws from Smith and the game winner from Edwards to pick up its 11th conference victory.
UALR returns to action Saturday, Feb. 14 when it faces the ULM Warhawks in Monroe, La.
