UALR had its chances to knock off the Sun Belt Conference’s best team Thursday night.
R.J. Hunter, Georgia State’s leading scorer, was mired in foul trouble and the Panthers didn’t come close to grabbing control of the game in the opening minutes like they did when the teams met last month in Atlanta.
But UALR’s leading scorer was hobbled by an ankle injury, and other than the first five minutes of the second half the Trojans never found easy baskets inside as Georgia State pulled away for a 68-57 victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,338 at the Jack Stephens Center.
“Timid to shoot, scared to attack,” UALR guard Leroy Isler said. “We hurt ourselves. They didn’t do anything to stop us from doing what we did.”
James White, UALR’s second-leading scorer, was back in the lineup after missing the past four games because of a high-ankle sprain and gave the Trojans a boost.
The sophomore forward finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and his dunk with 16:28 left erased an eight-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 31-31. White’s jumper just more than four minutes later pulled UALR (12-11, 7-4) to within 35-34 with with 12:07 left, but a 42-34 advantage on the boards for Georgia State - the league’s worst rebounding team - helped prevent any sustained runs.
“Grit, toughness, fight, blocking out and creating space, it’s a mentality,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “They had more grit than us.”
The Panthers (17-6, 10-0), who have won a school-record 14 consecutive games, used an 11-3 run after White’s jumper and took a 46-37 lead on Devonta White’s jumper. UALR never made another run, and Georgia State led by as many as 17 points late in the game.
White finished with 22 points, which helped make up for what the Panthers didn’t get from Hunter, who picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the second half and finished with 14 points, nine below his average in Sun Belt games, in 23 minutes.
“They’ve got four guys that can go for 25 or more on any given night,” Shields said. “There’s a reason they’re 10-0 right now.”
UALR saw that when the teams met Jan. 18 in Atlanta as Georgia State scored the first 11 points and never trailed in a 99-73.
Thursday’s game started much more favorably for UALR, which is 3 ½ games behind the Panthers in the league standings. Georgia State turned it over twice on its first three possessions, and Hunter went to the bench with his third foul less than 10 minutes into the game. Kemy Osse made back-to back baskets for UALR, the second coming on a leaner with 7 minutes left to tie the game at 14-14.
The Trojans started the game 4 of 19 from the floor and were 8 of 32 in the first half, and UALR trailed 29-21 at halftime after Rashaad Richardson and Devonta White made consecutive threes late in the first half.
Josh Hagins made a jumper to start the second half, then Hunter picked up his fourth foul, and Isler’s basket inside helped start a 10-2 run to open the second half. The spurt was capped by White’s dunk that sparked the loudest ovation of the night and forced a timeout by Georgia State.
“Coach said bring unbelievable energy [in the second half],” James White said. “That’s what we tried to do. We’ve got to maintain it the whole game instead of just those first five minutes. It’s got to happen the whole game.”
Shields didn’t blame the offensive problems on the slowed Will Neighbour, who practiced a bit Wednesday for the first time since suffering a right ankle injury in Saturday’s victory at South Alabama. But the senior who averages 17.7 points per game was held scoreless in the first half and finished with four points and 10 rebounds.
Isler and Hagins had 11 points each for the Trojans, and they shot 52 percent in the second half, but they missed their first 10 three-pointers and finished 2 of 14.
“We need to make the extra pass,” Shields said. “Trying to make the play ourselves. … It’s as simple as making the extra pass, finding the open man, sharing the ball better.”
SOUTHLAND MEN CENTRAL ARKANSAS 85, SE LOUISIANA 71
LaQuentin Miles scored 21 points and Central Arkansas (6-15, 3-7 Southland Conference) used an 18-0 run in the second half to defeat Southeastern Louisiana (9-12, 4-6) at the Farris Center in Conway.
The Bears trailed 59-56 with 12:04 remaining, but their 18-0 run put them on top 74-59 at the 6:14 mark. DuShaun Rice’s three-pointer tied the game at 59-59 and Dauoda Berete’s jumper gave UCA a 61-59 lead.
DeShone McClure had 15 points while Tirrell Brown added 13. The Bears shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) in the second half and 51.8 percent (29 of 56) overall.
Southeastern Louisiana, which led 38-37 at halftime, was led by Antonnio Benton, who scored 18 points.
THURSDAY’S GAMES Georgia State 68, UALR 57 Texas State 65, La.-Monroe 57 La.-Lafayette 92, Texas-Arlington 89 Troy 79, South Alabama 74
SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central La.-Lafayette at Texas State, 4:30 p.m.
W. Kentucky at UALR, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 20 on 02/07/2014