UALR can't scale WKU's 'mountain'

PETE PERKINS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

For the first time since "lottery pick" became a basketball term, there's lottery-pick talk in the Sun Belt Conference.
Western Kentucky junior center Chris Marcus showed UALR why Saturday night, when he led the Hilltoppers to an 86-73 victory over the Trojans before a crowd of 5,912 at Alltel Arena.
Marcus entered the game with averages of 16.2 points and 11.9 rebounds a game, good enough, when combined with his size of 7-1 and 285 pounds, to attract NBA scouts from one Sun Belt stop to the next.
"If he came out, he'd be a top-five pick, no doubt," an NBA official said Saturday.
"He's an impact player on both ends of the floor," UALR Coach Porter Moser said. "When he's on offense, you have to key in on him. And when you're on offense, you always have to consider him. He had five blocks, but he probably adjusted another six shots. That's 11 possessions where he had an impact on the shooter."
Marcus had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, and said afterward his decision to remain at Western Kentucky for his senior season was "carved in stone."
His 14 first-half points were almost enough to decide it, despite UALR's run to the finish.
Down by as many as 23 points, the Trojans mounted a comeback, and were within 53-40 after a three-pointer by senior guard Alan Barksdale with 11:42 left in the game.
With Marcus finally slowed by double-teams set by senior forward Stan Blackmon, junior forward Damion Ninkovic and freshman center Darius Eason, UALR pulled within 63-57 with 5:05 left after a three-pointer by Barksdale, a steal and a layup by senior guard Laverne Smith, a free throw by Eason and a layup by Blackmon on consecutive possessions.
"They really collapsed on me in the second half," Marcus said. "And, really, I had my hands full trying to stop Blackmon, so that took a little of the offensive effort out of me."
Blackmon led UALR with 21 points, 16 in the second half. Barksdale scored 18. Sophomore guard Nick Zachery came off the bench to score 12.
"We just stubbed our toe in the first half by not playing with the same intensity and belief that we had in the second half," Moser said. "You can't do that against a team like that. You do, and it's just too much of a mountain to get over."
Western Kentucky (19-6, 12-2 Sun Belt) responded to UALR's late run with free throws on its next three possessions.
Marcus, fouled after a steal from Blackmon beneath UALR's goal, hit from the line to give Western Kentucky a 68-57 lead with 4:00 to play.
After that, UALR (16-9, 8-6) got no closer than 10 points.
"Marcus will be a top two or three NBA pick next season," Blackmon said. "He has good hands. He's a great passer. He really has a lot of finesse around the basket, and he's hard to get around on offense. Fundamentally, he's very sound, and he's going to get a lot better."
UALR's 56 second-half points were its most this season. Its 17 in the first half were the fewest.
The Trojans' post players hit a combined 2 of 11 from the field in the first half.
"I think we were just too excited in the first half," Blackmon said. "At halftime, Coach just told us to relax. He told us to just lay it on the line, and we did.
"If we could've just played that way 35 minutes, instead of 20 minutes, I think we would've won. But the first half was just horrible."
"You're always thinking about Marcus, whether he blocks your shot or not," Moser said. "I just told our guys, 'If he gets a block, he gets a block. But take it to him.' Stan did a nice job in the second half. He went after it.
"We were so much more aggressive in the second half. Our guys wanted it so bad. I was very calm at halftime. I just said, 'You've gotten this far this season by playing the opposite of that. You just have to go out and leave it on the floor.' ''

This article was published on Sunday, February 18, 2001

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