Box Score LITTLE
ROCK
- UALR (8-4) withstood a late 12-1 Tulsa (6-4) rally by hitting 8-of-12 free
throws over the final three minutes to earn a 72-65 win over the Golden
Hurricane on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. The win keeps UALR unbeaten at
home this season (7-0) and ties a record for most consecutive home wins (8)
since the Trojans opened the Jack Stephens Center in 2005.
"I thought our guys did a good job late of finishing with
some free throws and some defensive rebounds, but overall we had too many
turnovers in the second half," said head coach Steve Shields. "But we're learning as a very young team; we're
getting better. I like our guys' mindset, and I like their attitude. You've got
to give Tulsa credit for fighting back and continuing to push the ball in
transition."
UALR committed 18 turnovers in the win, with 12 of
those coming after halftime. The Trojans also forced Tulsa into 18 turnovers in
the game.
Tulsa held the edge in rebounding (40-to-37), points in
the paint (34-to-20) and second-chance points (11-to-7). UALR finished the
night shooting 44.4 percent (20-of-45) from the field and a red-hot 57.1
percent (8-of-14) from three-point range, while holding Tulsa to 40.0 percent
(22-of-55) and 25.0 percent (5-of-20), respectively.
Freshman John
Gillon finished with a game-high 17 points on a 4-of-7 effort from the
field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range. Gillon also went for
team highs in rebounds (7) and assists (4) in 27 minutes of action.
Freshman Josh
Hagins finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and freshman James White scored 12 points, pulled
down five boards and blocked two shots in 20 minutes of work.
D'Andre Wright led the Golden Hurricane with 15 points,
while teammate James Woodard finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
After a first half that saw Tulsa shoot just 36.4
percent (8-of-22) from the field and 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from long range,
Tulsa shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) over the final 20 minutes. Conversely, the
Trojans started the game shooting 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the floor before
shooting just 36.4 percent (8-of-22) in the second half.
Leading 39-28 at halftime, the Trojans' lead grew as
large as 16 in the second half after White tipped in a miss by Gillon to make it
59-43 with 8:23 remaining. A layup by Tulsa's Shaquille Harrison at the 6:03
mark ignited a 12-1 run for the Hurricane that was capped by a Zeldric King
bucket that cut UALR's lead to four, 62-58, with 3:23 remaining.
Two free throws by Gillon got the Trojans' advantage
back to six, but Tulsa answered with two freebies of their own by Scottie
Haralson to again make it a four-point game. Hagins hit four of six free throws
over the next two UALR possessions to get the Trojans' lead to eight, but a
bucket by Wright with 1:33 remaining made it a six-point game. Tulsa got within
five after a missed free throw by Harrison was put back by Woodard, but UALR was
able to get two more points at the line while its defense did not allow another
bucket over the final half-minute of play.
UALR returns to action on Monday at 7 p.m. when it
hosts Louisiana Tech, who handed the Trojans an early-season loss in Ruston,
La., back on Nov. 14.
