UALR 54, EAST CAROLINA 46
LAS VEGAS -- Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 13 points and made all six of his free throws and UALR outscored East Carolina by 16 points over the final 20 minutes in a 54-46 victory Thursday in the Las Vegas Invitational.
UALR trailed 23-15 at halftime but scored seven of the first nine points to start the second half and pulled ahead 32-29 after Kemy Osse and Johnson made three-pointers. The Trojans pulled away on Josh Hagins' three-pointer and Mareik Isom's layup with 7:42 left.
B.J. Tyson's three-pointer pulled East Carolina to within 50-46 with 28 seconds to go, but Johnson made four free throws as UALR wrapped up its fourth consecutive game.
Hagins scored 11 points for the Trojans (4-0), who shot 20 of 22 (91 percent) from the free-throw line but just 26 percent from the field.
The Trojans limited East Carolina to 31 percent shooting for the game. Tyson had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates (2-3), who committed 22 turnovers.
The Trojans took their first lead since the first half on transition baskets by Johnson and Osse midway through the second half. Johnson pulled UALR to within 27-26 at the 10:47 mark, then found Osse for an open three-pointer in transition less than a minute later to put UALR ahead 29-27.
East Carolina tied the score at 29 with two free throws before UALR used three-pointers by Johnson and Hagins and a basket by Isom to fuel an 8-0 run and build a 37-29 lead. After the Pirates answered with a three-pointer by Caleb White, Johnson scored again to push UALR's lead to seven.
UALR finished the game with a 24-3 edge in points off turnovers and held a 16-6 advantage in points in the lane. The Trojans' bench outscored East Carolina's 22-16.
Both teams combined to shoot 2 of 18 over the game's first eight minutes. Baskets by Hagins and Lis Shoshi and two free throws by Johnson gave UALR a 9-7 lead with 8:58 to play in the half, but the Pirates scored 14 of the next 16 points to take a 21-11 lead with 2:30 left in the half.
The Trojans hit their final four free throws of the half to pull within eight going into the break.
Sports on 11/27/2015