With UALR playing tomorrow night, we'll go ahead and get the BTH Morning After out ahead of schedule.
UALR survived the most serious of foul
trouble to beat Jacksonville State 75-70 in the opening game of the BVI
Tropical Shootout on Friday night at Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin
Islands.
Yet, amazingly, UALR didn’t have a
single player foul out of the game thanks to superb use of the bench by UALR
Coach Steve Shields.
UALR finished with two players with
four fouls (DeVonte Smith and Ben Dillard), and three players with three fouls
(Leroy Isler, James White and Gus Leeper). That doesn’t sound all that bad. But
the reality was that, minus the third for Leeper and White, this was UALR’s
foul situation early in the second half.
Dillard picked up his third late in
the first half and Smith and Isler got their third early in the second half.
Dillard then got his fourth soon after re-entering the game in the second half.
But Josh Hagins and Will Neighbour
weren’t in foul trouble and they kept UALR ahead until reinforcements arrived
from the bench.
BURN UNIT
UALR went without radio for the first
half of the game. Then when the signal finally showed up on Heartbeat 106.7 it
was the Jacksonville State broadcast. It was the culmination of a series of
events not fitting for UALR fans.
First, UALR play by play broadcaster
Ray Tucker didn’t make the trip to the British Virgin Islands. Why? We were
told Tucker couldn’t locate his passport. Then there was some sort of issue
getting Jacksonville State’s play-by-play signal on the air in Little Rock.
However, enterprising fans listened to
the game on Jacksonville State’s Web
broadcast, which worked the entire game. The only problem was their
announcer calling Will Neighbour “Wes” and mispronouncing Leroy Isler’s name
throughout. But, hey, at least he made the flight.
Sucks for local advertisers who didn't get to pitch their products to us tonight. Perhaps they'll get a refund.
Sucks for local advertisers who didn't get to pitch their products to us tonight. Perhaps they'll get a refund.
No word on tonight’s radio.
STAT OF THE GAME
8 of 12. UALR shot 67 percent from the
three-point line, making 8 of 12. Ben Dillard made 3 of 4, Josh Hagins 2 of 3,
Kemy Osse 1 of 1, Leroy Isler 1 of 1 and Will Neighbour 1 of 3.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ben Dillard provided a huge first-half
spark in scoring a career high 18 points to lead UALR. Dillard made 5 of 6
field goals, including 3 of 4 three-pointers. He also made 5 of 6 free throws
and had a steal.
GLASS HALF FULL
UALR held a 40-27 advantage in
rebounds. That included 12 from James White, 10 from Will Neighbour and 6 from
Josh Hagins.
GLASS HALF EMPTY
UALR won despite a subpar game
offensively from Will Neighbour. He finished with a double-double with 12
points and 10 rebounds. But he made only 3 of 10 field goals and never got
untracked offensively.
KEYS TO VICTORY
Don’t pass glass: UALR won rebunds
40-27. Grade: A.
Punch the clock: Despite two lengthy
travel days to get there, UALR was ready to play from the start and never
trailed on Friday. Grade: A.
Confidence in Twos: Ben Dillard (18
points), Josh Hagins (16 points) and Kemy Osse (5 points) were all more than
solid at the 2 Guard position. Grade: A.
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
UALR was a favorite for the first time
this season and covered the three points.
UP NEXT
Waiting on the Southern Miss-Coppin
State final. UALR gets the winner on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Central.
