Box Score MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The UALR men's basketball team (12-14, 9-3 Sun Belt) saw its four-game win streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon at the Murphy Center as Middle Tennessee (23-4, 12-1) shot 63.4 percent from the field en route to a 68-60 win over the Trojans.
LaRon Dendy led all players with 23 points off a 9-of-11 effort from the field, and scored 19 points in the first half to help the Blue Raiders build a 35-30 halftime they would never relinquish. Dendy scored the first 12 points of the game for MT and went 8-of-9 from the field in the first half to help the Blue Raiders shoot 70.0 percent (14-of-20) over the first 20 minutes. MT racked up 18 assists on its 26 field goals en route to its .634 field goal percentage - the highest surrendered by the Trojans this season.
"We lost to a very good basketball team today. Kermit (Davis) does a great job with his guys on both ends of the floor. There's a reason they are 23-4 and in first place in the Sun Belt Conference. They are a very talented team that leads the league in both offensive and defensive field goal percentage," said UALR head coach Steve Shields. "I'm proud of our guys for the way they competed today, especially coming off of short rest and a long travel day. They are a resilient bunch, and that all starts with D'Andre Williams and Courtney Jackson."
Sophomore Will Neighbour and senior D'Andre Williams combined for 40 of UALR's 60 points in the loss, with Neighbour scoring a career-high 22 points off 8-of-11 shooting (3-for-6 from three-point range). Williams added 18 points off a 5-of-11 effort from the field, and went 4-for-5 from three-point range as the duo combined to go 7-of-11 from long range. UALR shot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc in the loss (8-of-18), which helped the Trojans counter a 24-to-10 scoring disparity in the paint.
UALR entered Saturday's game averaging 7.5 turnovers during its four-game win streak, but committed 15 turnovers against Middle Tennessee, which resulted in 17 points for the Blue Raiders. Bruce Massey totaled team highs of seven assists and three steals for MT, while Marcos Knight and Kerry Hammonds chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively. All five starters grabbed at least five rebounds for Middle Tennessee, helping the Blue Raiders to a +7 margin on the glass (30-to-23).
UALR got off to a fast start against the Blue Raiders, running out to an early 10-3 lead by making four of its first five field goal attempts, capped off by a three pointer from Williams. Dendy rallied MT from its early seven-point deficit by scoring the team's first 12 points of the game, the last of which brought MT within a point, 13-12, with 13:03 on the clock. After a three pointer by Williams gave UALR a 16-14 lead, Hammonds answered with a three pointer of his own to put the Blue Raiders on top for good.
Middle Tennessee pushed its lead as high as seven points in the first half behind the play of Dendy, as a dunk by the senior forward put the Blue Raiders on top 27-20 with 7:30 to go. UALR battled back to make it a one-point game as Williams and Neighbour connected from three-point range, but MT scored the final four points of the half to take a 35-30 lead into the intermission.
Neighbour opened the second half with a jumper to bring the Trojans within three, 35-32, but the Blue Raiders used a three pointer by Hammonds and a dunk by JT Sulton to extend its lead to nine, 41-35. MT's lead reached double digits for the first time with 11:34 to go, as Raymond Cintron connected from three-point range to put the home team ahead 50-40.
UALR managed to cut its deficit to five points, 50-45, behind a hook shot from Neighbour and a three pointer by Williams, but was unable to get stops on the defensive end. Three pointers from freshman Ben Dillard and Neighbour allowed UALR to get back within five, 56-51, after falling behind by eight points, but the Trojans would not get that close again.
UALR returns to action Thursday night when it hosts Florida International at 6 p.m. The game will be televised by CSS/CST.
