Box Score MIAMI,
Fla.
- UALR struggled from the field on Thursday, shooting just 39.3 percent from
the floor and 9.1 percent from three-point range as the Trojans (15-13, 9-8
SBC) fell by a 65-52 final to FIU (15-12, 10-8 SBC) at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Sophomore Michael Javes and freshman
John Gillon led UALR on offense with
12 points apiece.
Both teams combined for 46 turnovers in the game, with
FIU committing 24 and UALR committing 22. FIU finished the night with 14 steals
and led 25-to-18 in points off turnovers and 16-to-7 in fast-break points.
The Panther shot 46.8 percent from the floor and 88.9
percent from the foul line, led by a 15-of-16 performance from the charity
stripe in the second half. Cameron Bell led four FIU players in double figures
with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Junior Will
Neighbour scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds but finished the
night with six turnovers. Neighbour, freshman Josh Hagins and junior Leroy
Isler all had two steals in the contest. Javes blocked a season-best-tying
four shots.
As a team, UALR was outrebounded 35-to-31 in the
contest. The Trojans ended the night with 12 offensive rebounds and led 8-to-2
in second-chance points.
The Trojans looked strong to start the game on offense,
scoring on each of their first two possessions through isolations for Neighbour
to build a quick 4-0 lead. FIU answered with four-straight points of its own
and eventually took an 8-7 lead following the second of back-to-back
steal-and-slam plays by FIU's Bell. A bucket by the Panthers' Juan Ferrales
capped a 9-0 run for the Panthers and put the home team on top 13-7 at the
12:38 mark.
With FIU still leading by six, a 9-2 run by the Trojans
capped by a James White jumper gave
UALR a 25-24 lead with just under two minutes to play in the half. The Panthers
answered with a trey by Deric Hill and a dunk by Tola Akomolafe to take a 29-25
lead into halftime.
FIU opened the second half with a three-pointer by
Jerome Frink to go up 32-25, but the Trojans scored six-straight points to get
within one, 32-31, with 15:09 remaining. Another three-pointer by Frink pushed
the lead back out to four, and a trey by Tymell Murphy just over a minute later
gave FIU a five-point cushion at 38-33.
The Trojans pulled within three on two separate
occasions over the final 13 minutes of the second half, first on a layup by
Gillon that made it 38-35 with 12:29 left, and again after two free throws by
freshman Kemy Osse made it 42-39 at
the 9:23 mark. Following Osse's free throws, FIU went on a 10-0 run to increase
its lead to 13 with under five minutes left. From there, UALR got as close as
nine after a trey by Gillon made it 57-48 with 1:33 left. FIU responded by
scoring the next four points and UALR got no closer than 11 for the remainder
of the game.
UALR will stay in the state of Florida to play its
final road game of the season, at Florida Atlantic on Saturday at 6 p.m. UALR
will then return home for a pair of games against Louisiana-Lafayette and
Arkansas State at the Jack Stephens Center to close the regular season.
