Box Score LITTLE ROCK ? ULM's Rudy Turner totaled 20 points and eight rebounds on Thursday night to lead the Warhawks (11-14, 6-8) to a 67-64 victory over the UALR men's basketball team (7-17, 3-10) at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Warhawks grabbed 18 offensive rebounds on their way to a +6 rebounding margin (37-to-31) and enjoyed a 21-to-10 scoring advantage in second-chance points. Dynile Forbes added 16 points for ULM, while Lawrence Gilbert chipped in 10 points and a game-high nine boards.
“We faced a tough basketball team tonight that came up with a majority of the loose balls,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “I felt like most of the game we defended well enough, but didn't have enough toughness, especially on the glass.”
In a game featuring 16 lead changes and eight tie scores, UALR led 57-53 with 5:13 remaining before the Warhawks scored eight-unanswered points to take the lead for good. Turner scored the first four points of the 8-0 run to tie things up at 57-all, then Tommie Sykes made 1-of-2 foul shots to put ULM on top for good. Kenneth Averette followed up a missed field goal by the Trojans with his only three pointer of the night moments later to give ULM a 61-57 edge with 3:04 remaining.
UALR twice pulled within a point of the Warhawks, but ULM got baskets from Turner and Colby Carr down the stretch to fend off the Trojans. Down 67-64 after a pair of free throws by Forbes with 11 seconds to go, the Trojans had a chance to send the game into overtime, but junior Matt Mouzy's three pointer from the corner was off the mark.
“The fact is, if we don't give up 18 offensive rebounds it doesn't come down to the last possession,” added Shields.
Juniors Alex Garcia-Mendoza and Solomon Bozeman each totaled 15 points and six rebounds in the losing effort. After shooting 29.6 percent from the field in the first half, the Trojans bounced back to make 13-of-23 from the floor over the final 20 minutes (56.5 percent).
UALR struggled out of the gate Thursday night, misfiring on its first nine field goal attempts as ULM jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead with 13:32 left in the half. After going the first 6:51 without a field goal, Bozeman snapped UALR's drought with a three pointer at the 13:09 mark, sparking a 13-2 run by the Trojans.
The Trojans scored eight-unanswered points at the start of the 13-2 run, which Bozeman capped off with a three-point play to give UALR its first lead of the night, 15-14, with 8:00 remaining. The lead changed hands six times over the next 5:15, before a layup by sophomore Lionel Foster and a three pointer by junior Ricky Davison down the stretch helped the Trojans take a 24-22 lead into the break.
Neither team shot over 30.0 percent from the field in a first half which featured 21 turnovers ? 13 of which came at the hands of ULM. Gilbert paced all players with nine points and five rebounds over the first 20 minutes.
UALR returns to action Saturday night when it takes on WKU at 7 p.m., in a game which will be televised by Fox College Sports.
