Second-half surge difference for UALR

PETE PERKINS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Sophomore point guard Alex Finger was delivered a message on Thursday.
He and his UALR teammates were given one more on Saturday. It came at halftime. Then they pulled away to an 87-69 exhibition victory over Arkansas-Monticello before a crowd of 1,299 at Alltel Arena.
Arkansas-Monticello led 35-33 at halftime.
But UALR forced turnovers on Arkansas-Monticello's first three possessions of the second half, starting when freshman forward Columbus Willis drew a charge from junior forward Jun McClain.
Sophomore guard Chris Green hit a three-pointer at 19:30 and UALR led 36-35.
Arkansas-Monticello would not lead again.
"The key play of the game, coming right out of the gate in the second half, was from a freshman," UALR Coach Porter Moser said. "It was Willis taking a charge right off the bat. I told them we needed to make an effort play to get the momentum changed. You have to make an effort play, and then build on that."
"They really came out and hit some big shots," Arkansas-Monticello Coach Charlie Schaef said. "You could tell they were a bit more energized to start the second half."
Finger started both halves for UALR, not a bad result considering Moser told Finger to leave the court during a Thursday practice.
Moser called Finger in for a closed-door meeting immediately afterward.
"What Alex brings to the table is intensity," Moser said. "What I'm trying to do is get him to be the coach's extension on the floor. The point guards have to be in complete control out there. If Alex was in my doghouse, it was because I wasn't pleased with how he was quarterbacking the team.
"What I want him to do is fight back and make plays. Alex did that."
Finger scored eight points in 17 minutes. His three-pointer with 1:40 left in the game gave UALR an 85-68 lead.
"I just bought into what Coach Moser told me," Finger said. "I've made mistakes not valuing every possession. Coach has changed me, and I just do what he tells me to do."
Senior forward Stan Blackmon led UALR with 23 points. Senior guards Laverne Smith and Alan Barksdale scored 13. Freshman point guard Bryan Crislip scored 12, hitting 4 of 4 three-point attempts.
Crislip had 4 assists and 6 turnovers in 23 minutes.
"Crislip has always been able to shoot it," Moser said. "But here's what I liked. Some freshman might've been thinking about all the threes, but Bryan came up to me and said, 'Coach, I know I have to work on my turnovers.' I said, 'That's such a good comment.' He's such a coachable kid, that that's something he'll work on and clean up."
"I made a lot of stupid mistakes," Crislip said.
Steve Green led Arkansas-Monticello with 21 points. Junior forward Dennis Harris scored 12.
"This was a great experience for us," Schaef said. "We get to play in one of the finest arenas in the South, and we got great competition. We're going to get a lot out of this game film. I saw a lot of things we can work on."
"I knew Monticello would come ready to play," Moser said. "They reminded me of an old Sun Belt team, with small, very athletic guards. They didn't have a big man, but they were very quick, with some good shooters."

This article was published on Sunday, November 12, 2000

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