Trojans don't go to pieces

PETE PERKINS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

STILLWATER, Okla. -- A different story line has preceded each of UALR's three games with Oklahoma State.
The end had always been the same, blowouts for Oklahoma State.
Okahoma State managed to hold on for a 70-60 victory over the Trojans on Tuesday in the first game at the new Gallagher-Iba Arena.
But, for a change, UALR remained in contention late in a game that was delayed for 36 minutes after Oklahoma State junior forward Jason Keep, with some assistance from UALR freshman center Darius Eason, ripped the rim from the backboard on a slam dunk with 43.9 seconds left, sending shattered glass across the court.
Senior guard Alan Barksdale scored 15 points in a 12-minute stretch to put UALR in contention. His 15-footer from the baseline tied the score at 52 with 8:29 left.
"We have a lot of confidence, and I think that showed out there tonight," Barksdale said.
Senior guard Laverne Smith hit from 15 feet to give UALR it's first lead at 54-52 with 8:00 to play.
Three lead changes later, Oklahoma State (6-1) was in front 58-56 after a steal and fast-break layup by keep.
Keep's basket started a run that gave Oklahoma State a 62-56 lead following junior guard Daniel Lawson's layup at 4:02.
With three minutes left, Eason was stripped of the ball in the Trojans' frontcourt, leading to a full-court pass from sophomore forward Andre Williams to Keep.
Keep's dunk stretched Oklahoma State's lead to 65-58 with 2:46 to play.
UALR (6-3) got closer before Keep's backboard-shattering dunk.
UALR got no closer than 70-62 after the restart.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Oklahoma State," UALR Coach Porter Moser said. "They really dug in and forced turnovers late, and that made the difference.
"But we never gave up. I asked the guys to come in and fight, and they did."
Last season, UALR played host to Oklahoma State in the first basketball game at Alltel Arena, on Nov. 23, 1999. It received dual billing as the Alltel opener, and the reunion of Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton and Sidney Moncrief -- the one-season UALR coach, and former Arkansas Razorbacks superstar under Sutton.
Oklahoma State defeated UALR 93-64 to the start the Trojans on a 4-24 season. Moncrief resigned to become an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks last May. Moser replaced Moncrief as UALR's seventh NCAA Division I coach.
On Dec. 12, 1988, Oklahoma State started its three-game series with UALR at the Myriad in Oklahoma City. UALR tipped off minus four starters, suspended by Wimp Sanderson in his final season at the Trojans' coach. The players had accepted gifts and money from a UALR booster.
Oklahoma State handed Sanderson the most lopsided defeat of his 17-season head-coaching career, with an 88-41 romp past UALR.
"They're a lot better this year," Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton said. "They're a nice team, and I think they're going to win a lot of games."
"This was completely different," Barksdale said. "This time, we were prepared for the things they do. We played great for 35 minutes. But, their defensive pressure took over in the end, and that's to their credit. This is a great place to play. They really got loud."
Barksdale led UALR with 20 points. His fourth three-pointer of the game completed a five-point play, after he had hit two free throws on a technical foul, and put UALR within 43-42 with 13:25 left.
It also gave Barksdale his 200th career three-pointer, a UALR record.
"I guess that will mean something someday," Barksdale said. "Right now, it doesn't mean much."
Last season, Barksdale hit 3 of 17 three-point attempts against Oklahoma State. This time he was 4 of 9.
"Barksdale got even with us tonight," Sutton said.
"I told our guys it can be a lot of fun to come into a place like this and win the respect of the crowd," Moser said. "Clearly, we did that."
Oklahoma State took command early, and was up 14-4 after a three-pointer by junior guard Maurice Baker with 13:40 left in the first half.
Oklahoma State's lead was 25-14, after sophomore forward Melvin Sanders hit a six-foot bank shot at 7:43.
But UALR would score the next seven points, on two layups by freshman forward Co Willis, and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Mark Green, to pull within 25-21 with 5:12 left in the half.
Green's second three-pointer cut Oklahoma State's lead to 34-28 at 1:14, but freshman forward Terrence Crawford hit two free throws with one minute left to set the halftime score at 36-28.

This article was published on Wednesday, December 20, 2000

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