UALR never gets going in blowout loss at Middle Tennessee

50      82

UALR couldn’t stop Middle Tennessee’s runs throughout the night as the Trojans predictably lost 82-50 to the Blue Raiders on Thursday at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.

UALR freshmen Josh Hagins and Kemy Osse had 14 and 11 points, respectively, but the Trojans never got going offensively. Scorers like Leroy Isler and Taggart Lockhart registered zeros and Will Neighbour (6) and Ben Dillard (3) didn’t combine to reach 10. Michael Javes did have 9 but most came after the game was well out of hand.

 

The game played out much as the rosters indicated it would. Middle Tennessee is the second most experienced team in all of NCAA Division I basketball, according to Web site statsheet.com. It ranks UALR as the most inexperienced team in all of Division I.

 

The game was reminiscent in a lot of ways to another UALR visit to Murfreesboro. On Jan. 10, 2005, UALR lost 85-50 to the Blue Raiders. Later that same week, UALR turned the tables and beat Middle Tennessee 69-62 in a game played in North Little Rock. UALR will have to wait a little longer for a shot at redemption this time as the Blue Raiders don’t visit Little Rock until next month.

UALR remains winless on the road this season and is 0-4 away from home in Sun Belt Conference play. The next opportunity comes Saturday at Western Kentucky.

Middle Tennessee coasted on Thursday behind 15 points from Neiko Hunter, 12 from Shawn Jones, 11 from Marcos Knight, and 10 apiece from Tweety Knight and Raymond Cintron.

UALR made just 18 of 51 field goal attempts (35 percent) and 3 of 11 three-pointers. The Trojans were outrebounded 37-25 and committed 19 turnovers against a Middle Tennessee that never even showed pressure in the back court.