Trojans receive message clearly
SUN BELT MEN
UALR 81, TROY 63
Less than two weeks ago, Troy used a lethal threepoint shooting night to snap the UALR men’s basketball team’s six-game winning streak.
That night in Troy, Ala., the home team buried 15 long-range shots to hand the University of Arkansas at Little Rock its first Sun Belt Conference loss 76-71.
The performance made UALR Coach Darrell Walker’s message heading into Wednesday’s rematch at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock easy to digest.
“My goal, after watching that film over two or three times, was we have to get ’em off the line,” Walker said Wednesday.
Troy had nowhere near the same success from beyond the arc this time as the Trojans rode a dominant second half to an 8163 victory in front of an announced crowd of 1,051.
“Coach kept telling us all this week, ‘Run ‘em off the line, run ’em off the line,’ ” said junior forward Ruot Monyyong, who led UALR with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Troy (8-13, 4-6) made 15 of 31 (48%), including 8 of 12 in the second half, from three-point range in the Jan. 9 meeting. On Wednesday, Troy finished 7 of 26 (27%). UALR (14-7, 8-2) hit 7 of 19 three-pointers to nullify Troy’s output.
“If they had a three, you had to be all over them, contest it,” Walker said. “I thought defensively, as a group, everybody’s rotations were good, weak side was good, and we ran them off the line.”
It was another pesky defensive performance for a UALR team that’s relied on plenty of them this season.
Troy shot 33% from the floor and turned the ball over 15 times, which led to 23 UALR points. Only two Troy players finished in double figures — guard Ty Gordon tallied 15 points, and guard Desmond Williams had 10.
UALR, which entered the game with a plus-5.5 in rebounding this season, was bested on the boards 44-36, but it didn’t matter much in what ended up being a romp for the home team.
UALR has won three consecutive games since it dropped back-to-back contests to Troy and South Alabama earlier this month. All of those victories have come by at least 16 points. UALR remains in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt standings in what’s been a turnaround season for the program, and the Trojans get a rematch with South Alabama (12-8, 5-4) on Saturday in Mobile, Ala.
“Everything is really clicking right now at this time, and it’s perfect timing, because we’ve still got more work to do,” said sophomore point guard Markquis Nowell, who finished with 7 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. “The guys are just really gelling. We’re really locking up on the defensive end, because we know on the offensive end it’s really not a problem.”
Nowell, who had logged just four minutes in the past four games after suffering a hamstring injury against Georgia Southern on Jan. 6, said he feels 100% now.
“Being back, it’s just a great feeling, especially when we got the win,” Nowell said.
UALR led Troy by as many as eight points in the first half and settled for a 37-34 lead at halftime. From there, Walker’s club took over.
UALR ran out to an 11-point lead in the opening 4 ½ minutes thanks to an 11-3 run. By the nine-minute mark, Troy was back within seven at 60-53, but that was as close as Troy could get. UALR responded with a 7-0 spurt over the next two minutes to go up by 14.
Minutes later, sophomore forward Kamani Johnson poked the ball away for a steal, then took off down the floor. Nowell grabbed the ball and looked ahead for his teammate, whom he hit deep with a football-like pass that led to an easy dunk. Johnson finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Nowell immediately turned around to face the end of the arena occupied by UALR’s cheer team, pep band and student section to voice his approval as the rout gained momentum.
“We haven’t sent a message to anybody. We haven’t done anything,” Walker said. “You could lose two in a row and be in third or fourth place real quick. At the end of the day, we’re going to get prepared for South Alabama.”
Junior guard Jaizec Lottie contributed 14 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds for the Trojans, who made 29 of 59 shots from the floor.