SUN BELT MEN: Loose ball sinks Trojans in final seconds

— UALR needed one defensive stop with 26 seconds left to force overtime Thursday night, but a loose ball left the Trojans with a loss.

After guard Solomon Bozeman rebounded his own missed layup for a tying put back, the Trojans had an isolation play well defended, with UALR forward Eric Kibi sticking close to Western Kentucky forward Steffphon Pettigrew after Pettigrew was handed the ball on a ball-screen at the top of the key.

Kibi jarred the ball from Pettigrew’s hands, but guard Jamal Crook plucked the loose ball from the air and laid it in with two seconds left, handing UALR a 61-59 loss in front of 3,036 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

“He had him chested up and did a great job contesting the shot,” said guard Matt Mouzy, who led the Trojans with 14points and hit 5 of 10 three pointers. “We just couldn’t get it after that.”

Crook did, racing down the lane toward the rim as the ball hung in the air.

“Somehow, I was in the right place at the right time,” Crook said.

“You’ve got to get to loose balls,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “We didn’t have a white jersey leaving their feet to go make a play on it.”

The play was a product of hustle, something Western Kentucky Coach Ken Mc-Donald told his team during a timeout with 7:46 left would decide one or two crucial plays at the end. The Hilltoppers showed it with a plus-9 rebounding advantage and 18 second-chance points.

“The hustle plays and extra effort plays are going to win the game,” McDonald said. “It happened that way on both ends, and that’s why they were there at the end.”

The final play wiped away a strong second-half defensive effort in which UALR (14-13, 6-6 Sun Belt Conference) held the Hilltoppers (13-13, 7-6) to 31 percent shooting after Western Kentucky (13-13, 7-6) shot 58.7 percent in the first half.

UALR cut nine-point deficits to four points five times in the second half, and limited rangy forwards Juan Pettillo and Sergio Kerusch, who average a combined 28 points per game, to five points on 2-of-12 shooting.

But the two forwards grabbed a combined 13 rebounds, while Pettigrew scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and had 10 rebounds.

The Trojans still had their chances to catch up at the free-throw line, but with UALR trailing 55-51, forwards Derrick Bails and Kibi missed the front end of 1-and-1s and Bozeman went 1 of 2.

“So often, you think about the last play, but if we’re better from the foul line it doesn’t come down to that,” Shields said.

Sports, Pages 20 on 02/18/2011

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