Box Score HOT SPRINGS, Ark. ? UALR senior John Fowler hit two three pointers in the final minute and a half to lead the Trojans to a thrilling 58-55 comeback win over Denver (15-16) on Sunday night at Summit Arena. The Trojans (23-7) trailed throughout the entire second half, falling behind by as many as 14 points, until Fowler's second three pointer with 27 seconds left put UALR ahead for good.
Down for the first time since the 12:20 mark of the first half, Denver's Nate Rohnert got off two potential game-tying three pointers in the final five seconds, but neither fell. The No. 2 Trojans advance to Monday's 9 p.m. semifinal game, which will be televised by ESPN Regional, against the winner of tonight's matchup between No. 3 Troy/No. 6 South Alabama.
First Team All-Sun Belt selection Shane Edwards went 8-of-11 from the field on his way to a team-high 21-point effort. The 6-7 forward added a game-high eight rebounds to help the Trojans to a +11 rebounding margin (30-to-19).
Fowler, who was 0-for-2 from the field and scoreless prior to sinking his two three pointers, finished with six points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior Mike Smith chipped in 11 points off the bench on 4-for-6 shooting.
Denver's Rob Lewis scored a career-high 27 points in the losing effort, going 10-of-11 from the field. The 6-7 sophomore scored all 15 of DU's points at the start of the game to help the Pioneers to a 37-26 lead at the half.
After allowing Denver to shoot 52.6 percent from the field in the first half, the Trojans stepped up their defensive intensity in the second half and held DU to a .389 clip with 10 turnovers over the final 20 minutes.
“I felt like we struggled in the first half and they were able to go where they wanted. We didn't apply very good ball pressure. We wanted to get in the situation, if we could, of being efficient on the offensive end and getting in our press,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We hadn't pressed a whole lot but we didn't want to guard their offense for thirty or thirty-five seconds and I thought our guys did an excellent job getting some deflections in the second half.”
Rob Lewis hit three treys over the first 8:02 and scored DU's first 15 points to help the Pioneers run out to a 21-11 lead with 8:45 remaining. UALR led 11-10 at the 12:20 mark after a basket by freshman Courtney Jackson, but the Pioneers answered with an 11-0 run to take a 10-point lead. UALR's 11-10 lead would mark its last advantage until Fowler's three pointer with 27 seconds left in the game.
Denver built its lead as high as 14 points, 42-28, in the second half after a three pointer by Rohnert. UALR answered with a quick 10-0 run, with two three pointers by sophomore Matt Mouzy, to cut its deficit all the way down to four points, 42-38, with 15:29 to go.
The Pioneers managed to stay on top of the Trojans, leading 50-44 with 10:41 to play after a layup by Rob Lewis. UALR finally broke through and tied the game at 50-all when senior Brandon Patterson fed freshman Courtney Jackson for a dunk.
Lewis answered the bell once again for the Pioneers, delivering a three-point play to put DU back on top, 53-50, with 5:19 on the clock. Leading 53-52, Lewis scored on a drive to the hole for his final points of the game to give Denver a 55-52 edge with 2:10 to go. Trailing by three, Fowler tied the game at 55-all with his first points of the game, then hit the game winner with 27 seconds to go.
The Trojans overcame a horrific 8-of-20 effort at the foul line (40.0 percent) to improve to 9-1 on the year in games decided by five points-or-less. The Pioneers, meanwhile, converted 15-of-17 at the charity stripe (88.2 percent), but went just 7-of-18 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range in the second half.
