UALR sluggish in home loss to St. Bonaventure

  An inspired finish to the first half didn’t carry over. UALR was never really able to get anything going in a sluggish 68-55 home loss to St. Bonaventure.


Chuck Guy got fouled on this play
but he missed both free throws.

  Chuck Guy led the Trojans with 14 points, while Solomon Bozeman had 13 and Courtney Jackson 10. But the Trojans were never able to consistently finish around the basket. At the free throw line they were even worse. The Trojans made 5 of 14 free throws, missing opportunities to close the gap on St. Bonaventure’s lead. Bozeman was 94 of 114 at the free throw line entering the game, but he made just 1 of 5 on Thursday. Guy entered at 23 of 31 but made only 2 of 5.
  The lack of scoring was more alarming given the absence of St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson for half of the game. Nicholson, who is projected as a second round NBA pick, was limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble. He finished with 11 points and 2 rebounds, well below his team leading averages.
  “I didn’t think we had good energy to start the game,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “No team, at any level, is good enough to just show up and play.”
  The loss drops UALR to 8-9 on the season and below .500 for the first time this season. UALR next faces three must-win home games against Troy, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette.
  UALR fell behind in the first half before a late rally. On the final play of the half, Guy was fouled attempting a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left. He made 2 of 3 free throws for a 26-26 tie.
  Nicholson quickly picked up his fourth foul but it didn’t matter. The Bonnies pushed the lead to 38-28 on a three-pointer by Demitrius Conger with 15:34 left.
  UALR got to within 39-27 on a three-pointer from Bozeman with 12:59 left, but St. Bonaventure went on a quick 6-0 run to push the lead back to eight points. It reached 16 points with 7:51 left on a three-pointer by Ogo Adegboye for a 55-39 lead.
  UALR fought back, cutting the lead to 57-49 after consecutive three-pointers by Mouzy. Mouzy looked like he had found his shooting zone and UALR went right back to him again. Bozeman drove inside and pitched it back to Mouzy, but he couldn't make it three in a row as the lead stayed at eight points.
  At the next stop in play, Nicholson checked back in and quickly scored on a layup for a 10-point lead as UALR didn’t challenge down the stretch.