Freshman points way for UALR

PETE PERKINS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A UALR freshman showed signs of maturity.
Point guard Bryan Crislip's three-pointers and steals helped stop a rally as the Trojans pulled away to an 89-73 victory over the Alcorn State Braves on Tuesday night before a crowd of 2,284 at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock.
UALR (5-1) had its 15-point halftime lead trimmed to 65-59 with 7:25 to play, after a 9-1 run by Alcorn (0-5). But Crislip hit a three-pointer at 7:08 to give UALR a 68-59 lead.
By 4:25, after a three-pointer by senior guard Alan Barksdale, UALR's lead was 73-61.
"Crislip played like a veteran," UALR Coach Porter Moser said. "When he hit that three, it was huge. It was a huge shot."
"Their freshman point guard made a big, big shot," Alcorn Coach Davey Whitney said. "You have to give him credit. He hit that shot when they really needed it."
"I think he's played well all season," Barksdale said. "Point guards don't get a lot of glory, but he got some tonight. He played terrific. He did a great job of getting us into things we needed to get into, and he made some key steals."
Crislip had two steals in the final two minutes that led to points, including a windmill dunk by senior forward Stan Blackmon that completed the scoring with 10 seconds left.
"Crislip is a fundamental, sound guy," Blackmon said. "He was fired up when he got here, and he's just going to get better. He played real good tonight."
Blackmon led UALR with a season-high 24 points. Crislip and Barksdale scored 15.
Blackmon's big game came after he was held to seven in UALR's 54-51 loss at Baylor on Saturday.
"I think Blackmon took that Baylor loss hard," Moser said. "He didn't play particularly well, and he was on edge afterward. He just busted out tonight."
Senior forward Marcus Fleming led Alcorn with 20 points.
Fleming had three of the layups in a run of five in five consecutive possessions that had Alcorn within 51-40 with 16:50 to play.
"That was just something we can't have," Moser said. "We have to at least make them earn it. If defense is going to be our staple, our signature, then we can't have that."
"We came out to lackadaisical," Blackmon said. "We thought they were going to lay down. But they picked it up."
"They're a good team," Barksdale said. "They didn't give up."
Crislip's three-pointer stopped Alcorn.
His six consecutive free throws stopped any chance of a comeback.
Crislip concluded his scoring with two free throws at 1:28. On UALR's next possession, after a steal by Crislip, Barksdale hit a three-pointer to drive UALR's lead to 86-70 with :54 to play.
"Crislip has gone from the wide-eyed freshman, to a guy with almost a smirk on his face," Moser said. "You can see he's in a comfort zone out there. He really held his composure when they made their run, and I thought he was the key to our maintaining our lead."
"He knows what a point guard is supposed to do," Barksdale said. "That's what he does, and he enjoys doing it. He does a great job at it. That's why we win, because all of our guys are playing their role so well."
Crislip clearly sounds like a point guard.
"If I have a wide-open shot, I'll take it," Crislip said. "Otherwise, I want to get more players involved so they can get their names in the paper."

This article was published on Wednesday, December 6, 2000

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