BURN THE HORSE
Good teams have to find a way to win games they have no
business winning. UALR did just that on Thursday night, rallying to beat Troy
58-56 in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.
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BTH UALR REWIND |
But it doesn’t mean there weren’t things that shouldn’t be
attention getters.
UALR defended the three-point shot well most of the night. But
Troy’s undersized lineup was able to get to the paint to score with ease. And
at the other end, UALR was unable to utilize its size advantage to convert the
easy shots in the paint.
"It goes back on me. That's my job to keep our guys on edge. Obviously we weren't on edge tonight," UALR Coach Steve Shields said.
Be sure and watch Coach Shields in the postgame press conference below. He was as intense as he's been in one of those in a long time. And he's really been pretty patient with his young team this year. It sounds like patients is running thin.
"It goes back on me. That's my job to keep our guys on edge. Obviously we weren't on edge tonight," UALR Coach Steve Shields said.
Be sure and watch Coach Shields in the postgame press conference below. He was as intense as he's been in one of those in a long time. And he's really been pretty patient with his young team this year. It sounds like patients is running thin.
UALR was better at both ends in the second half. Troy made 9
of 13 two point shots in the first half and only 9 of 28 in the second half as
they all but abandoned the three-point shot.
And Will Neighbour, who made only 1 of his first 7 shots,
made 4 of his final six. That included his turn-around jumper that gave UALR
the lead for good in the final minutes.
It was as ugly as can be. But it was a win. And that’s all
that matters.
BURN NOTICE
Solid game for sophomore Taggart Lockhart on Thursday.
Lockhart finished with 11 points, making 4 of 5 field goals, 2 of 3
three-pointers and his only free throw attempt.
STAT OF THE GAME
UALR went to the free throw line 22 times while Troy went
only twice. UALR outscored Troy 14-2 in free throws.
KEYS REVISITED
Threes please: UALR was solid defensively around the three-point line, holding Troy to 6 of 22 for 27 percent. Grade: A.
Glass cleaner: UALR only held a 38-36 rebound advantage and gave up 15 offensive rebounds. Grade: D.
Win the four: Will Neighbour got off to a slow start but finished with a double-double on the night. Grade: B.
THE GOOD
Junior Leroy Isler finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 1
blocked shot.
THE BAD
Sophomore Michael Javes was 0-3 from the field in 11
first-half minutes. He didn’t see the court in the second half.
THE UGLY
Troy got 14 offensive rebounds to UALR’s 12. That kept Troy
ahead much of the night.
VEGAS, BABY
UALR entered as a nine-point favorite. That means those that
placed a bet on UALR came away losers on Thursday. UALR is 3-0 overall and 2-1
vs. the spread as a Las Vegas favorite.
PREDICTIONS
Everyone across the board went for UALR on Thursday. That
makes everyone a winner. Real Time RPI continues to lead the season standings.
UP NEXT
UALR gets Louisiana-Monroe at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the
Jack Stephens Center. After losing 65-54 to Western Kentucky on Thursday, ULM
is now 0-3 on the season. Yes, 0-3. They’ve only played three games with losses
to Oklahoma and Louisiana Tech.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES
