Rally falls hair short for UALR

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

DENVER -- UALR's largest comeback bid of the season fell short.
UALR had not trailed by more than 11 points this season before Thursday night, when Denver built a 17-point lead in the second half.
UALR pulled within three points with 6:35 left, and within two with 20 seconds left, but would get no closer.
Denver hit all six of its free throws in the final minute and held on for a 69-65 victory over the Trojans at Magness Arena before a crowd of 518.
Carrying momentum from a 10-point run to end the first half, Denver (5-9, 1-3 Sun Belt Conference) built its lead to 47-30 with 16:34 to play on a layup by senior forward Wahhab Carter.
But UALR (8-5, 1-2) pulled within 51-48 when junior forward Damion Ninkovic hit a three-pointer at 6:35.
"That was a big deficit, but we didn't give up," UALR Coach Porter Moser said. "That's been a theme of this team's all year. We will battle back, and we never quit. I've been proud of the guys for that this season. Maybe that's something we can take away from this game."
Denver's lead was 60-51 after a layup by senior forward Kevin Overton with 3:16 left, but UALR again came back.
Overton hit two free throws with 27 seconds left to give Denver a 67-62 lead.
But on UALR's next possession, senior forward Stan Blackmon hit his first three-pointer of the season to put UALR within 67-65 with 20.2 seconds to play.
Denver sophomore guard B.J. Pratt hit two free throws to complete the scoring.
"UALR is a very good defensive team," Denver Coach Marty Fletcher said. "But we just really played well tonight. We hit our shots when we needed to. It was good to get our first conference win.
"Although they didn't play like they have been, Porter really has them moving in the right direction."
UALR entered the game ranked third in NCAA Division I in fewest points allowed, with an average of 57 points a game.
UALR has given up an average of 71 points in its first three Sun Belt games.
Blackmon led UALR with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Freshman guard Nick Zachery scored eight, as did freshman center Jake Yancey.
Pratt led Denver with 19 points. Overton and Carter scored 12 each.
There were six lead changes through the first 17 minutes, before Denver took control.
After Blackmon hit a layup to give UALR a 25-24 lead, junior center Steve Simmon's free throw started Denver's run with 3:07 left in the half.
UALR missed its final seven shots of the half.
Denver's lead was 28-25 after senior forward Steve Overton's layup at 1:30.
The lead was Denver's for keeps.
A three-pointer by Pratt, and Carter's three-pointer at the buzzer gave Denver a 34-25 halftime lead.
"Carter's shot was huge," Moser said. "We just had a defensive breakdown on that play, and it hurt. I've told the guys, 'The little things add up.' He makes that shot, and it gave them all sorts of momentum."

This article was published on Friday, January 12, 2001

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