Nonconference game just what UALR needed

BECK CROSS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

UALR has been involved in its share of boring blowouts since reestablishing the basketball program two years ago, but the Trojans will happily remember this one.
In snapping a nine-game losing streak, UALR (6-15) was one point shy of tying a school record for points in a 103-31 massacre of Division I independent Morris Brown (5-12) Saturday before 225 at Trojan Fieldhouse.
All 11 Trojans who played scored at least 3 points. Lone senior Scealita Drennon led UALR with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
"The kids needed a game like this,'' UALR Coach Tracy Stewart-Lange said. "Because it was a non-conference game, they could've come out nonchalant but they came out very focused and the effort was there.''
Though confidence-building for the team, it wasn't intriguing for fans outside of the first 6 minutes. UALR jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind baskets inside from Drennon and Roberta Sarti before the Lady Wolverines regrouped with a three-point play from Christin French and a free throw from Renee Smith.
Morris Brown stayed within 8-6 with 16:53 left in the half but the Trojans answered with a 12-2 run. In taking a 20-8 lead with 12:05 left, Sarti scored twice in the post and was 2 of 2 from the line.
With a successful full-court press, UALR put the game away by halftime, taking a 46-15 lead.
Morris Brown didn't eclipse the 20-point mark until 10:04 left in the game. At that point, it trailed 76-21.
UALR surpassed the 100-point mark with 2:25 remaining on Shasta Beal's offensive rebound and putback.
"Getting that win and executing well is a huge confidence booster for us,'' Stewart-Lange said. "It was nice for us to get some players some time on the court because they work so hard in practice.''
UALR, which is winless in 10 games in Sun Belt Conference play, begins a three-game conference road trip on Thursday at New Orleans. The Trojans return home on Feb. 17 to play host to Western Kentucky at Alltel Arena.
"We've been playing well on the road so hopefully we can build on this and go after it,'' Stewart-Lange said. "We've got great opportunities coming up and we've been progressing in so many areas.''

MORRIS BROWN	M	FG	FT	O-R	PF	A	PTS
Smith	37	4-16	2-9	5-14	3	0	10
French	22	1-13	2-3	2-3	1	0	4
Walker	34	1-11	0-0	2-5	3	3	2
Nelson	36	1-9	1-4	4-7	2	0	3
Crawford	22	0-3	2-2	2-3	4	0	2
Ray	9	0-5	2-3	0-1	0	0	2
Bray	19	1-3	0-0	0-4	1	1	2
Sherman	21	3-10	0-0	5-9	3	0	6
Team					0-2
Totals	200	11-70	9-21	20-48	17	4	31

PCT. FG -- 15.7. FT -- 42.9. 3-PT -- 0-9, 0.0 (French 0-4, Walker 0-3, Nelson 0-2). BL - 4 (Sherman 2); TO - 28 (Walker 11); ST - 7 (Nelson 3).

UALR	M	FG	FT	O-R	PF	A	PTS
Huskey	25	2-4	0-0	0-3	2	9	4
Haris	26	7-10	0-0	0-0	3	2	16
Sarti	18	6-8	3-7	6-10	4	2	15
Strong	30	3-7	1-2	1-8	0	5	7
Drennon	18	8-14	3-6	3-14	3	1	19
Brooks	6	2-3	2-2	1-4	1	0	6
Sweat	22	3-7	0-2	1-4	1	8	7
Beal	6	1-2	1-3	2-2	0	0	3
Stephenson	19	3-9	0-2	0-4	1	2	6
Cash	25	8-16	0-0	5-10	1	1	16
Skoro	5	1-1	2-2	0-1	1	0	4
Team				0-4
Totals	200	44-81	12-26	19-64	17	30	103

PCT. FG -- 54.3; FT -- 46.2. 3-PT -- 3-9, 33.3 (Haris 2-4, Sweat 1-1, Huskey 0-1, Strong 0-1, Beal 0-1, Cash 0-1). BL -- 5 (Sarti 3); TO -- 15 (Sweat 4); ST -- 18 (Sweat 4, Huskey 4).
Halftime -- UALR 45, Morris Brown 16
Technical fouls -- none
Officials -- Polk, Staggs, Springer
Attendance -- 225

This article was published on Sunday, February 4, 2001

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