The UALR men's basketball team has done a lot in a short amount of time this season, but first-year Coach Chris Beard isn't content.
Beard's dream game is one in which he believes his team plays 40 consistent minutes. It looked like UALR came close Saturday, when an announced crowd of 3,959 at the Jack Stephens Center watched the Trojans earn their largest victory over a Sun Belt Conference team in five seasons with a 74-43 victory over South Alabama.
The Trojans (21-2, 11-1) shot 58.2 percent from the floor and held South Alabama (9-14, 4-8) to 28.8 percent while winning their sixth consecutive game.
Was it the complete game Beard is seeking?
"Maybe 32 minutes tonight," Beard said with a smile. "I think we've proven over the last three or four months of our season that we can play good basketball with a lot of different teams around the country. But what we haven't proven is can we be consistent for 40 minutes? I think that's no different from any other team."
It was plenty Saturday for a team with a two-game lead in the Sun Belt over second-place Louisiana-Lafayette, with eight games left in the regular season.
Roger Woods scored 12 points, including the first basket of each half, while Marcus Johnson Jr. hit 3 three-pointers to finish with 11. Jalen Jackson contributed 10 points off the bench.
Josh Hagins added 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, while Lis Shoshi had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Trojans.
UALR led 33-21 at halftime before a Woods basket inside started a 9-0 run capped by Shoshi's big dunk, which extended the lead to 42-21, prompting a South Alabama timeout. It worked -- briefly.
UALR went into a four-minute scoring drought before a Jackson basket with 14:10 left gave UALR a 44-29 lead, sparking a 14-2 run. Consecutive three-pointers by Hagins gave the Trojans a 56-31 lead.
The strong second half reversed a recent trend for the Trojans in which they came out sluggish after halftime in victories over Troy on Thursday and Georgia State last week.
"Coach made a real emphasis on building a good lead," Shoshi said. "We just played 0-0 from the start."
UALR's early lead was built with defense. It entered Saturday holding teams to 57.9 points per game for the season, the lowest mark of all Division I men's teams, and opponents were shooting just 37.4 percent from the field, which ranked fifth in the nation.
The Trojans bested both marks Saturday while forcing 15 turnovers and holding a 38-24 rebounding advantage. The Trojans scored 16 points off turnovers and converted 17 second-chance points.
It was a pleasing sight for Beard, who has preached the need for defense since he arrived less than a year ago. It is part of the tenets he first learned from Terry Priest, his high school coach from The Woodlands, Texas. Priest was in attendance Saturday.
"I thought we guarded at a high level tonight," Beard said. "I thought our guys were dialed in. I thought we had some defensive plays from different guys tonight."
UALR slowed Ken Williams, who entered averaging a team-best 14.5 points per game. Williams, who scored 19 in a Thursday loss at Arkansas State, was scoreless in the first half Saturday and only took four shots through the first 24 minutes. Williams' first points came on a layup three minutes into the second half, and he finished with 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
"We knew he takes a lot of shots," said guard Jermaine Ruttley, who had 5 points, 6 assists and 2 steals while helping slow down Williams. "We were just trying to limit his touches. He's going to take his shots but just live with it by playing good defense."
The road for UALR gets tougher. Its next four games and five of its final eight are on the road. The stretch includes a Thursday visit to third-place Louisiana-Monroe and a trip to Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. UALR is 9-2 on the road.
"This team has proven that it can win on the road," Beard said. "And we're going to have to do that down the stretch if we're going to be in contention."
TROY 71, ARKANSAS STATE 70
Devin Carter missed the third of three free throws with three seconds remaining as Arkansas State (11-12, 7-5 Sun Belt) fell to Troy (7-16, 2-10) at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
Daniel Peace made two free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Trojans a 71-68 lead. Carter was then fouled on a three-point attempt from the wing and made the first two free throws to trim the deficit to one point. He missed the third attempt which teammate Nouhoum Bocoum tried to put back but couldn’t as the final buzzer sounded. Troy led 39-34 at halftime and led by 14 twice in the second half when the Trojans outscored the Red Wolves 13-4 to lead 52-38.
ASU eventually took the lead 63-61 on Donte Thomas’ three-pointer with 4:49 left. The Red Wolves managed to increase the advantage to five points twice, the final time on an Anthony Livingston basket with 3:09 left for a 68-63 lead.
Troy’s Wesley Person led all scorers with 22 points, while teammate John Walton III chipped in 21 to go with a game-high 9 rebounds.
Livingston led ASU with 19 points. Carter had 15, while Bocoum came off the bench to score 14.
SWAC WOMEN
UAPB 69, ALABAMA A&M 60
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (7-14, 4-6 Southwestern Athletic Conference) won its third consecutive game with the ninepoint home victory at H.O. Clemmons Arena. The Golden Lions made 25-of-32 (78.1 percent) attempts at the freethrow line, including 14 of 18 (77.8 percent) in the second half. UAPB also forced 35 Alabama A&M turnovers. Niya Head led UAPB with 22 points. Diamond Richardson had 17 points, while Destiny Brewton added 13 more for the Golden Lions. Brooke Dixon led Alabama A&M (3-17, 2-8) with 14 points.
SWAC MEN
ALABAMA A&M 71, UAPB 66
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-19, 3-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference) led for 31:50, but could not hold off Alabama A&M (8-11, 4-6) at the end Saturday night at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
The Golden Lions trailed 37-36 at halftime but led the majority of the second half until the Bulldogs outscored them 12-6 over the final 5:36.
Alabama A&M’s Nicholas West led all scorers with 28 points and had a gamehigh 10 rebounds. Teammate Ladarius Tabb added 18.
Marquiz Cunningham led UAPB with 19 points, while JoVaughn Love chipped in 17.
Sports on 02/07/2016