MOBILE, Ala. — UALR fell out of contention for a bye in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday, meaning the Trojans will face the arduous task of winning four games over four days to make the NCAA Tournament.
South Alabama made that necessary by turning aside a UALR rally to win 92-79 at the Mitchell Center.
UALR (15-14, 7-7 Sun Belt) can finish no higher than third place in the West Division and is in danger of slipping to fifth with games at division leader Arkansas State and against North Texas next week.
Despite making the game close by outscoring South Alabama 21-7 over a six-minute stretch, the Trojans were whipped in almost every way by the Jaguars (12-14, 6-9), who had a plus-13 rebounding advantage, outscored UALR 48-36 in the paint and 26-6 in fast-break points and shot 55 percent from the floor.
Swingman Martino Brock led the way for South Alabama with 19 points, as six players scored more than 10. Brock also had nine rebounds. Freshman forward Augustine Rubit added 11 points and a gamehigh 11 rebounds, while guard Tim Williams added 15 points and small forward Gary Redus contributed 11.
The Jaguars got separation with a 10-3 run over three minutes, started by forward Javier Carter’s layup at the 10:13 mark and finished by two Allyn Crooks free throws thatstretched the lead to 32-19 with 6:53 to go in the first half.
Guard Solomon Bozeman scored 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting for UALR, while guard Matt Mouzy had 15 points but went 3 of 12 from behind the arc.
UALR (15-14) Louzeiro 2-7 0-0 4, Leeper 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 4-10 0-0 8, Garcia-Mendoza 6-11 0-0 14, Bozeman 8-13 2-5 20, Sutherland 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Guy 2-11 4-4 10, Mouzy 6-15 0-0 15, Kibi 1-3 1-2 3, Thornton 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 31-76 8-13 79.
SOUTH ALABAMA (12-14) Brock 6-9 6-11 19, Carter 5-7 0-0 10, Rubit 4-6 3-5 11, Redus 3-7 4-4 11, Cooks 6-12 4-5 16, Martin 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 5-10 3-3 15, Lundy 4-7 0-0 10. Totals 33-60 20-28 92.
Halftime-South Alabama 41-29. 3-Point Goals- Ark.-Little Rock 9-28 (Mouzy 3-12, Bozeman 2-4, Garcia-Mendoza 2-4, Guy 2-7, Williams 0-1), South Alabama 6-18 (Lundy 2-3, Williams 2-5, Brock 1-2, Redus 1-3, Martin 0-2, Cooks 0-3). FouledOut-None. Rebounds-Ark.-Little Rock 32 (Thornton 7), South Alabama 45 (Rubit 11). Assists-Ark.-Little Rock 14 (Bozeman, Williams 5), South Alabama 17 (Cooks 5). Total Fouls-Ark.-Little Rock 23, South Alabama 12. Attendance-1,811.
Sports, Pages 22 on 02/25/2011