Big finish fizzles: Troy strikes late to quell UALR’s noisy rally

UALR forward Maurius Hill (center) drives between Troy defenders DeVon Walker (left) and Jordon Varnado in Monday night’s game at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock. Hill had nine points, but Varnado’s 25-point, 13-rebound outing was enough to power Troy past UALR 78-69.
UALR forward Maurius Hill (center) drives between Troy defenders DeVon Walker (left) and Jordon Varnado in Monday night’s game at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock. Hill had nine points, but Varnado’s 25-point, 13-rebound outing was enough to power Troy past UALR 78-69.

Against one of the league's best offensive teams, UALR got the defensive stops when it needed them.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Troy guard Jeremy Hollimon (front) and UALR forward Ben Marcus fight for a rebound in the first half. Hollimon scored 22 points in his team’s victory.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Marcus Johnson Jr. led UALR with 16 points despite shooting 3 of 9 from the floor in the Trojans’ 78-69 loss to Troy on Monday night at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

The Trojans just couldn't make the most critical shots.

UALR lost to Troy, 78-69, on Monday night at the Jack Stephens Center, but not before it made one final run at a team that led 68-57 with less than nine minutes to go.

Nine consecutive stops on defense got an announced crowd of 2,571 the loudest it had been all night, and it got even louder each time UALR stormed down the floor with a chance to regain the lead and control of the game.

"I thought we were going to win," senior guard Kemy Osse said.

But, Marcus Johnson Jr.'s three-pointer from the top of the key didn't fall. Neither did Deondre Burns' three-pointer in transition on the next possession. Johnson's contested jumper in the lane also fell off the rim.

A made basket on any one of those shots would have given UALR a lead, but instead resulted in missed opportunities.

Troy's Jeremy Hollimon, who finished with 22 points off the bench, scored his team's final seven points to close out its first victory in Little Rock in three years.

UALR Coach Wes Flanigan said he liked all three of the shots his team took with the game on the line, and accepted that if just one of them had managed to fall his post-game comments might have had a different tone.

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know," Flanigan said. "We just have to execute better and we have to find ways to get those plays down if we want to win that game."

Instead, UALR (12-7, 3-4 Sun Belt) missed its final six shots from the field and committed two turnovers after Burns' two free throws pulled it to within 68-67 with 4:53 left.

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Flanigan was also upset about a fourth possession in the final moments.

Hollimon's two free throws gave Troy a 70-67 lead with 2:32 left, and UALR ran a play that got forward Oliver Black open down low, but Troy's B.J. Miller swiped at the ball and made a steal.

Flanigan said he thought Black was hit in the face, but rather than a foul being called, Hollimon made a three-pointer on the other end to make it 73-67 with 1:51 left, all but sealing a loss that prevented UALR from winning consecutive Sun Belt games for the first time this season.

"I was fine with all the shots that we got down the stretch," said Johnson, who had a team-high 16 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. "We just couldn't get them to go down."

UALR's troubles down the stretch hurt, but Troy (11-10, 3-4) forced the issue with strong inside play.

Not having 6-11 senior forward Lis Shoshi for the third consecutive game because of a toe injury didn't help UALR's cause inside, where it yielded 32 points in the paint and let Troy pull down 10 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points.

Sophomore Forward Jordon Varnado had 25 points and 13 rebounds, including 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half that helped extend Troys' 45-39 halftime lead to 65-55 with 9:34 left in the game.

"I thought in the first half we were a little timid, a little soft in the post against Varnado," Flanigan said. "Our guys are trying to be careful not to foul, but we have to be a little bit more physical there."

Troy entered the game averaging 80.2 points and shooting 51.4 percent in Sun Belt games, and while Troy almost reached its points average, UALR made it difficult.

Troy shot 7 for 21 from the field in the second half and 46.3 percent (25 for 54) for the game.

"That's what they're built on," Troy Coach Phil Cunningham said of UALR's defense. "They're built on toughness, and defending."

UALR even looked like the better offensive team at times.

The Trojans made 7 of their first 10 shots from the floor to go up 21-16 on a Burns three-pointer. Six different players had scored by the time they led 23-19 with 10 minutes left in the half.

But Troy outscored UALR 14-4 and ended up leading 45-39 at halftime.

UALR, which fell to a tie for seventh place in the Sun Belt standings heading into road games at Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe this week, never regained the lead.

"We came up a little short and we have to go back on the road," Flanigan said. "We've got to find a way to get two wins."

Sports on 01/24/2017

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