UALR nips ASU, rejoices

PETE PERKINS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

UALR beat Arkansas State for the first time since 1997, emerging from a defensive struggle on Thursday night for a 53-50 victory at Alltel Arena.
A late goaltending call against junior center Jason Jennings gave UALR the lead, and, with two free throws from senior guard Alan Barksdale, the Trojans held on for a victory before a crowd of 7,127.
Senior guard Jamie Rosser missed a three-pointer for ASU at the buzzer.
Rosser gave Arkansas State its largest lead of the second half, at 41-32 with 14:08 to play.
But a run by UALR (9-6, 2-3 Sun Belt Conference), completed with a layup by senior forward Stan Blackmon, gave the Trojans a 47-46 lead at 6:49.
Arkansas State (11-7, 5-1) regained the lead, at 48-47, on its next possession on a layup by sophomore guard DeWayne Hart at 6:21.
Neither team scored for more than three minutes, until Blackmon scored on a follow shot to give UALR a 49-48 lead with 3:01 to play.
Rosser scored with 51 seconds left to give Arkansas State a 50-49 lead.
It figured to be a battle between UALR's defense, and the offense of Arkansas State.
UALR entered the game ranked third in NCAA Division I in points allowed, giving up an average of 58, and sixth in field-goal percentage defense. The Trojans had held their opponents to a field-goal percentage of .378.
Arkansas State began the game with a five-game, Sun Belt victory streak, during which it had averaged a conference-high 72.4 points a game. It also led the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage at .526 in conference games. No other Sun Belt team had shot better than .470.
For the game, Arkansas State shot .350, its second lowest figure of the season.
Arkansas State had the game's first breakaway.
Senior guard Laverne Smith hit a three-pointer to put UALR within 14-12 with 11:51 left in the first half.
But Arkansas State scored the next eight points.

This article was published on Friday, January 19, 2001

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