JONESBORO -- The losing streak snapped, the in-state rival beaten, Ben Marcus lifted his head at the podium, a victor for the first time in over a month.
"It's a great feeling," he said.
The junior guard scored 14 points to help the University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball team beat Arkansas State University 82-78 Saturday night at First National Bank Arena, which ended an eight-game losing streak that began with a 72-70 loss to Texas State on Jan. 13.
UALR (6-21, 3-11 Sun Belt) also won its first road game of the season, answering ASU (9-18, 4-10) blow for blow at the three-point line and then pulling away with its strength near the basket.
ASU beat UALR earlier this season with a season-high 13 three-pointers. The Red Wolves made 11 of 23 (47.8 percent) from three-point distance Saturday, but the Trojans shot 9 of 19 (47.4 percent) and made seven during the first half.
"They shot the ball better than I expected," first-year ASU Coach Mike Balado said. "When Division I players get open shots, though, they have a better chance of going in. And I don't think we were out on a lot of those shots early, and a couple of times we didn't contest like we should have."
The teams traded offensive runs until the final minute of the game, when ASU junior guard Ty Cockfield made two three-pointers to pull the Red Wolves within 78-76 with 22 seconds left.
Cockfield finished with a game-high 27 points and was 5 of 8 on three-pointers.
UALR made all eight of its free throws in the final minute to preserve its lead.
"It feels good, because I know how hard my guys work every day in practice," said second-year UALR Coach Wes Flanigan, who earned his first career victory over ASU. "We were focused tonight. We were determined, and we came out with a win."
Flanigan and Balado both suspended their teams' leading scorers -- UALR's Andre Jones (12.3 points per game) and ASU's Deven Simms (17.1 ppg) -- recently, and Trojans junior guard Camron Reedus scored a team-high 22 points after being placed in the starting lineup.
"This is kind of what we expected out of Reedus when we signed him," Flanigan said.
ASU jumped to an 11-8 lead in the opening five minutes by creating open three-point shots against a UALR defense that struggled to contest them.
Neither team could stop the other late in the first half, when they traded five three-pointers -- ASU had three, UALR two -- until Flanigan called a timeout with the Red Wolves leading 28-26 with 7:23 left in the half.
ASU continued to bludgeon UALR with three-pointers, building a 40-36 halftime lead with three-pointers by junior guard Grantham Gillard and senior guard Rashad Lindsey.
UALR held ASU to 1-of-4 shooting from three-point distance during the second half, which turned the focus of the game near the basket.
The Trojans outscored the Red Wolves 34-22 in points in the paint, and forwards Oliver Black and Kris Bankston combined for 18 points.
The teams traded runs until Trojans freshman guard Jaizec Lottie's steal and Marcus' block led to layups that gave the Trojans a 72-70 lead with 1:55 left.
The Red Wolves never led again.
UALR will next host Coastal Carolina on Thursday, when ASU will host Appalachian State.
SOUTHLAND MEN
NICHOLLS STATE 87, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 83
Jordan Howard’s basket with 1:48 remaining gave the University of Central Arkansas (13-13, 7-7 Southland Conference) an 81-80 lead, but the Bears couldn’t hold on against the league’s top team at the Farris Center in Conway. Roddy Peters scored the final seven points for the Colonels (18-9, 12-2) as the Bears could only manage a layup by Howard with three seconds remaining. Howard played the entire 40 minutes and scored a game-high 37 points, which included 19 of 19 at the free-throw line. Peters scored 30 points in 31 minutes to lead the Colonels, who led by as many as nine points in the second half. He made 14 of 16 free throws.
UCA, which led by seven points in the first half, got 10 points from Mathieu Kamba.
SWAC MEN
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 76,
ARK. PINE-BLUFF 71, OT
The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (9-17, 9-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference) forced overtime with one second remaining in regulation but couldn’t hold off Prairie View A&M (11-16, 8-5) at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
The Golden Lions trailed 62-57 but tied the score 62-62 with 33 seconds left in regulation. After Prairie View’s Zachary Hamilton made a jumper with four seconds left, UAPB’s Travon Harper got loose inside for a layup to force overtime. With UAPB trailing by four, Harper’s three-pointer with 1:19 remaining got the Golden Lions to within 72-71, but the Panthers scored the final four points to close out the victory.
Harper led the Golden Lions with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Christian Robertson had 14 points, while Charles Jackson added 13.
Sports on 02/18/2018