Lost in the spotlight of several good efforts was that of
sophomore Gus Leeper.
Playing in just his fifth game since returning from injury,
Leeper had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes during last night’s 75-67
victory over Western Kentucky. But those 17 minutes were among the most solid
of any UALR player on the night.
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| Gus Leeper (55) fights for a rebound on Thursday. |
During Leeper’s 17 minutes, UALR outscored Western Kentucky
38-26. During the 23 minutes Leeper was on the bench, WKU outscored UALR 41-37.
It makes Leeper a team-best +12 for the night in our BTH Analysis Plus/Minus
Ratings.
But Leeper wasn’t the only +12 on the night. The other +12
went to freshman Stetson Billings, who didn’t score but had 1 rebound and 1
assist in 8 minutes. But during those eight minutes, UALR outscored Western
Kentucky 19-7.
The rest of Thursday’s top five were:
- Will Neighbour +9 (56-47)
- Taggart Lockhart +6 (45-39)
- Kemy Osse +5 (30-25)
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| Click to enlarge |
Osse was also pressed into point guard duty when John Gillon
was injured late in the first half. There were some minutes where some
combination of Osse, Gillon and Josh Hagins were on the court. But here’s the
totals when each was playing point guard:
- Osse +7 (9-2)
- Hagins +2 (49-47)
- Gillon -1 (17-18)
It adds up to an eight point victory for UALR.
Hagins continues to lead UALR at +.19 per minutes played,
+3.8 per games played and +57 for the season. He’s also a team best +29 in Sun
Belt Conference games. The best player in the past five games is Osse at +15.
