Darrell Walker did it again, this time with as much raw emotion as he's displayed all season with his entire team and coaching staff surrounding him.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball coach held the public-address microphone close -- the same one he'd already confiscated twice this season from the scorer's table to speak to the crowd after victories. This time, Walker went to midcourt and shouted repeatedly, "How 'bout them Trojans?"
The reason for it all could be read clearly in bold lettering on two big signs and on white T-shirts that his players held up triumphantly behind him -- "champions."
After Saturday's 91-69 thumping of Louisiana-Lafayette in their home finale at the Jack Stephens Center, the Trojans are outright champions of the Sun Belt Conference for the first time in four years.
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"It's been a long time getting to that moment," said Walker, whose team was picked to finish 11th of 12 Sun Belt teams in the preseason. "I'm happy for my team. For once, I think I can enjoy one without watching any film. I think I'll just take my family out to eat -- and I'm sure I'll be in the office tomorrow -- but tonight, it ain't no basketball."
Queen's "We are the Champions" followed Walker's postgame address to the announced crowd of 2,705. Trojans players then bolted to the left to celebrate with the student section. One student brought a sign that read "Nola Bound!" Another brought a symbolic cutout of a gold fleur-de-lis.
UALR (21-9, 15-4 Sun Belt) will have the No. 1 seed when it takes the floor March 14 in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, bypassing the first three rounds. All that's left before then is the regular-season finale at Georgia State in Atlanta on Tuesday night.
Walker eventually ducked into the tunnel as the on-court party began to die down. He greeted supporters and fist-bumped two police officers as he headed toward the locker room. There was no cutting down nets. Walker indicated later that now is not the time for that.
When Walker stepped to the podium for his news conference, he took his traditional swig from an Aquafina water bottle and said it loudly one more time for good measure -- "How bout them Trojans?"
"I really feel good for my guys, all of them, especially the guys that were here last year that returned that went through that season that we went through," said Walker, whose club won 10 games and finished tied for last in the Sun Belt a year ago during his first season. "These guys put the work in, man. They deserve to win. We're a solid basketball team. This is a good turnaround for this university."
Since former coach Chris Beard scaled new heights with a 30-win season and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2015-16, the Trojans had suffered three consecutive losing seasons.
The Trojans, seeking just their sixth NCAA Tournament berth, now are two victories away from dancing.
"I didn't think we would get to this point," sophomore point guard Markquis Nowell said. "I knew we would be a pretty solid team, but I [didn't] believe it would get to this point at all."
Nowell scored a game-high 19 points to go along with 7 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds. He made 4 of 6 from three-point range, with a few practically from different ZIP codes.
UALR shot 55% from the field, had five players finish in double figures, and hit 10 of 19 from beyond the arc, compared to Louisiana-Lafayette's 2-for-20 day from deep.
The Trojans built a 16-4 lead in the first five minutes, bolstered by two threes from Nowell, before the Ragin' Cajuns (12-18, 7-12) responded with a 12-0 run to tie the game midway through the half.
Less than two minutes later, Nowell stole the ball and in transition bounced a pass underneath his legs behind him to trailing junior forward Ruot Monyyong, who threw down a dunk to put UALR ahead 25-18. Monyyong finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his 16th double-double. The Trojans settled for a 40-37 lead at the break.
Nowell came out firing early in the second half, hitting a pair of threes in the opening four minutes, then a jumper that gave UALR a 57-42 lead.
As if he was trying to prove it wasn't a fluke the first time, Nowell made another mesmerizing pass through his legs and behind him, connecting with trailing junior guard Ben Coupet Jr., who rose up for a one-handed slam to give the Trojans a 59-48 lead with 11:28 to play.
"I really thought he was gonna throw it off the backboard, I'm not gonna lie," said Coupet, who had 15 points and five assists.
The Trojans eventually amassed a 21-point advantage with under seven minutes remaining and skated to their third consecutive victory.
Soon enough, the real work will begin in New Orleans.
"We ain't done yet," Nowell said. "We really want the Sun Belt [tournament championship]. This is a good accomplishment, but we got bigger goals ahead."
Guard Mylik Wilson led the Ragin' Cajuns with 18 points, and guard Cedric Russell added 17.
Sports on 03/01/2020