Box Score LITTLE ROCK - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (5-1) made 12 three pointers on its way to a 59-54 victory over the UALR men's basketball team (2-4) at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday night. The Panthers shot just 30.0 percent from inside the three-point arc on the night (6-of-20), but connected on 12-of-24 attempts from long range (50.0 percent).
Sophomore Will Neighbour led the Trojans with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the losing effort, followed by 11 points from senior D'Andre Williams. The Trojans committed just 10 turnovers on the night and won the rebounding battle (38-to-35), but shot 34.5 percent from the field - including a 3-of-17 effort from three-point range (17.6 percent).
James Haarsma led UWM with 17 points off 6-of-9 shooting, and scored seven-consecutive points after UALR took a 50-49 lead with 2:37 remaining to lead the Panthers to victory. In a game featuring 18 lead changes and seven tie scores, UALR took its last lead of the night when sophomore Chuck Guy scored on a layup to give the Trojans a slim 50-49 lead.
Haarsma delivered a three-point conversion on the ensuing possession to put UWM back on top, and then scored a pair of layups off assists by Kaylon Williams to give the Panthers a 56-50 lead with 29 seconds to play. UALR came up empty handed on its next three possessions after Guy's layup, but still had a chance to tie things up in the closing seconds.
Trailing 57-52, Neighbour made it a three-point ballgame when he scored on an offensive putback. UALR sent Ryan Haggerty to the line with 11.1 seconds remaining down 57-54, but Haggerty missed both foul shots to give UALR a chance to send the game into overtime. The Trojans went to Guy in the closing seconds, but his potential game-tying three pointer was off the mark. Haarsma then knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining to bring the game to its 59-54 finale.
Kyle Kelm chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds in the win for UWM, while Williams totaled eight points and seven assists. UWM's 12 three pointers came from six different players, with five Panthers hitting at least two treys in the win.
UALR scored the final five points of the first half to take a 27-24 lead into the break. Williams closed out the half by assisting on a three pointer by freshman Taggart Lockhart and then came up with a steal and a fastbreak layup to send the Trojans into the locker room with a three-point edge. Williams led all scorers with nine points at the break, to go along with two assists, two steals and three rebounds.
UWM shot just 31.8 percent from the field in the first half (7-of-22), but scored 15 of its 24 points from beyond the arc off a 5-of-11 effort. The Trojans were +5 on the glass (19-to-14) over the first 20 minutes (19-to-14), while holding the Panthers to zero offensive rebounds, and held a 10-to-2 scoring advantage in the paint.
UALR built a seven-point lead early in the second half, the largest by any team in the game, but UWM's next five made field goals all came from beyond the arc to help the Panthers get back in the game. Trailing 31-30, Guy delivered a successful three-point conversion and Neighbour scored five points as part of an 8-0 run to put the Trojans ahead 38-31 with 13:50 to go.
UWM overcame its deficit behind its three-point shooting, and led 49-46 with 3:26 remaining after a bucket by Kelm. UALR reclaimed the lead for the final time off a pair of free throws by Neighbour and a layup by Guy, but Haarsma's play down the stretch proved to be too much for the Trojans.
UALR returns to action Tuesday night when it hits the road to take on Northwestern State at 7 p.m.
