Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The UALR men's basketball team (19-7, 12-3 Sun Belt) saw its five-game winning streak come to an end Thursday night with a 78-69 loss to Western Kentucky (18-8, 12-3) at the Jack Stephens Center. The Hilltoppers enjoyed a commanding +17 margin on the glass, with 21 offensive rebounds, and held the Trojans scoreless for the final 4:49.
“The most obvious difference in the game tonight is (WKU) outrebouding us by 17. The key stat was their 26 second-chance points to our five-second chance points,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “I thought we did a good enough job defensively, holding a very good offensive team to 44 percent from the field, but it's tough to overcome giving up so many second chance points.”
In a back-and-forth game featuring eight tie scores and nine lead changes, the Trojans took their final lead of the night, 69-68, with 4:50 to play off a three-point play by senior Shane Edwards. It would mark the last points of the night for the home team, as the Trojans went 0-for-5 with two turnovers over the final 4:49, helping WKU close out the game on a 10-0 run.
WKU took the lead for good off a layup by A.J. Slaughter, who added two foul shots moments later to put the Hilltoppers ahead 72-69 with 2:39 to play. WKU regained possession after a traveling call against the Trojans, and Steffphon Pettigrew made it a six-point ballgame, 75-69, when he followed up an offensive rebound by Sergio Kerusch with a three pointer at the 1:36 mark.
Down by six, the Trojans squandered any possibility of late-game heroics when they were whistled for five seconds on an inbounds play with 1:26 to go. WKU went 3-for-6 at the line over the final minute to bring the game to its 78-69 finale.
Orlando Mendez-Valdez went 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range on his way to a game-high 20 points. Kerusch fueled WKU's +17 rebounding margin (41-to-24) with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Hilltoppers grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, led by five from Kerusch, and outscored the Trojans 26-to-5 in second-chance points.
Pettigrew chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds for the Hilltoppers, while Slaughter, who went 2-of-13 from the field, added 10 points and a game-high seven assists.
Senior John Fowler was one of four Trojans to score in double figures, going 3-for-4 from three-point range on his way to a team-high 12 points. Junior Wayne Burton went 5-of-6 from the field on his way to a career-high 11 points, while Edwards and junior Mike Smith chipped in 10 points a piece.
The Trojans shot 50.0 percent on the night, including a blistering .696 clip over the first 20 minutes, but managed just eight offensive rebounds and converted only 17-of-27 free-throw attempts (63.0 percent).
The two teams traded punches throughout the first half, with five tie scores and six lead changes over the first 20 minutes. UALR shot 69.6 percent from the field in the first half and put together a late 10-3 run to take a 46-38 lead into the break.
UALR connected on its first six three-point field goal attempts out of the gate, with Mouzy and Fowler each going 3-for-3 at the start of the game. Leading 35-33 after a three pointer by Mendez-Valdez at the 3:57 mark, the Trojans ripped off a 10-3 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 45-36, with 56 seconds to go. Burton scored four points during the 10-3 run, while Fowler and Mouzy each knocked down a three pointer.
WKU opened the second half with a 13-5 run to tie the game at 51-all, but the Trojans responded with eight-unanswered points to take a 59-51 lead with 12:21 remaining. WKU took its first lead of the second half with 6:06 to play when a three pointer by Pettigrew put the Hilltoppers ahead 67-66. It marked WKU's first lead since holding a 30-29 edge at the 7:08 mark of the first half.
UALR returns to action Saturday night when it hits the road to face North Texas in Denton.
