Late dunk too early for UALR

UALR’s Oliver Black dunks to tie the game at 70-70 on Saturday, but Texas State responded to win 72-70.
UALR’s Oliver Black dunks to tie the game at 70-70 on Saturday, but Texas State responded to win 72-70.

Moments after his game-tying dunk, Oliver Black leaped toward his rising opponent with arms stretched, then watched the basketball sail over him and through the rim for the winning blow.

The last-minute comeback fell short.

Two days after the University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball team beat preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite University of Texas Arlington, the Trojans (5-14, 2-4 Sun Belt) lost 72-70 to Texas State (12-7, 5-1) on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

"We knew we were going to have our opportunity to win," said Black, a junior forward who had eight points and three rebounds. "We had it. We just didn't finish it."

The Trojans led 54-52 with 7:04 left in the game. But after a deep three-pointer by Texas State junior guard Tre Nottingham, the Bobcats led 70-65 with 27 seconds left.

Andre Jones, a sophomore guard, was fouled on a layup to get the Trojans within 70-68 after the free throw. Texas State sophomore Nedeljko Prijovic was called for traveling while trying to escape a double team on the inbound with nine seconds remaining.

Black's dunk with 6.3 seconds left seemed like it would send the game into overtime.

"Tough, hard-fought game," UALR Coach Wes Flanigan said. "It's sad that a team has to lose in that game right there."

Flanigan had called his team's victory over UT Arlington "validation," but a team that had lost 13 times previously did so again Saturday.

"No disappointment. That was a close game," Black said. "We see that we're getting better as a team. We just hope that we can finish out more games. We hope that if they're not a definite win, they're close games like these so we can have the opportunity to win."

Black and freshman forward Kris Bankston were the focus of the UALR offense at the start of the game, scoring a combined six points to give the Trojans an 8-5 lead with 16:53 left in the first half.

The Trojans were able to play off the success in the post when Bankston's deke drew an extra defender and cleared the way for a free-lane dunk by Jones, who finished with a game-high 19 points.

Texas State made up the gap with three-pointers, including two consecutive threes from senior guard Tyler Blount to give the Bobcats a 13-10 lead with 13:13 left in the first half.

Texas State finished the game 9 of 20 in three-point shooting (45 percent), and the Bobcats created open shots by forcing the Trojans' defense out of position with screens and quick passes. With 4:28 left in the half, Bobcats junior forward Alex Peacock stood free after Black and freshman guard Jaizec Lottie failed to switch defenders off a screen. Black closed late and fouled Peacock, who made 2 of his 3 free throws to extend Texas State's lead to 28-20 with 4:27 left in the half.

Jones scored consecutive baskets to pull the Trojans within 28-24, including a layup he finished between three defenders after driving the length of the court.

Freshman guard Cameron Corcoran made 3 three-pointers, one just before the halftime buzzer, to bring the Trojans within 33-32.

Corcoran continued to trade three-pointers with Texas State, making another to tie the game 43-43, then sophomore guard Ryan Pippins made a three-pointer to give the Trojans a 48-46 lead -- their first since the opening five minutes.

A thunderous Bankston dunk, which scraped past a defender's outstretched arms on the way down, seemed to give the Trojans momentum with a 54-52 lead and 7:04 remaining. But two UALR turnovers helped Texas State secure its lead, including an errant pass by Black that turned into a fastbreak layup to set the Bobcats ahead 63-58 with 3:47 left.

Texas State outscored UALR 18-8 in second-chance points.

UALR will next host Arkansas State University on Saturday.

TEXAS ARLINGTON 97,

ARKANSAS STATE 71

Johnny Hamilton had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks as the University of Texas at Arlington (12-7, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) made 15 three-pointers in a rout of Arkansas State University (6-13, 1-5) in Jonesboro.

Hamilton was one of four Mavericks to score at least 10 points Saturday. Erick Neal scored 18 points, and Nathan Hawkins and Kaelon Wilson each had 15 points.

Texas Arlington led 54-31 at halftime, shooting 66.7 percent (20 of 30) from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Mavericks shot 61.1 percent (33 of 54) overall. The Red Wolves were held to 39.4 percent shooting (28 of 71) and 4 of 19 from three-point range. Deven Simms led the Red Wolves with 14 points.

SOUTHLAND MEN

NICHOLLS STATE 86, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 79

Tevon Saddler hit 9 of 10 from the freethrow line in the final five minutes to help Nicholls State hold off the University of Central Arkansas in Thibodaux, La. Nicholls State is off to its best start in Southland Conference play since 2014 with five victories in six starts. After Darraja Parnell tied the game at 68-68 with a free throw, Nicholls State answered with a five-point run. From there, Saddler hit eight in a row from the free-throw line and the Bears (9-10, 3-3) never got closer than three points the rest of the way. Roddy Peters finished with 21 points to lead Nicholls State (11-8, 5-1) while Saddler hit 11 of 12 from the free-throw line for 19 points. Mathieu Kamba scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for UCA. Hayden Koval added 16 points, and Deandre Jones and Jordan Howard each added 15 points.

SWAC MEN

ARK.-PINE BLUFF 78, SOUTHERN 76

Joe’Randle Toliver scored 20 points as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff defeated Southern University in Pine Bluff. The Golden Lions (4-14) improved to 4-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference after going 0-13 in nonconference play. Toliver was one of five UAPB players to score at least 10 points. Martaveous McKnight and Trent Steen each scored 17 points. Steen added nine rebounds. Travon Harper and Terrance Banyard had 11 points apiece. The Jaguars (5-13, 1-4) were led by Sidney Umude, who scored 21 points.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

UALR’s Camron Reedus (11) goes up for a shot while being defended by Texas State’s Deris Duncan (3) during the second half of the Trojans’ 72-70 loss Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

Sports on 01/14/2018

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