UALR scuffled out of the gate, then couldn't make a free throw when it was trying to crawl back into a game Thursday night at Texas State.
Luckily for the Trojans, Josh Hagins was there to bail them out.
The senior guard's jumper with 19 seconds left forced overtime, then his step-back three-pointer at the buzzer finally put UALR on top for good in a 77-74 overtime victory over Texas State at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos, Texas.
Hagins' three was the last of his team-high 19 points, 11 of which came in the final 7:30 of the second half or overtime. It also prevented UALR (16-2, 6-1 Sun Belt) from losing consecutive games for the first time this season and set up Saturday's game at Texas-Arlington as a game for sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt.
"He took his time, he got the ball where he wanted to and he took a shot he could make," UALR assistant coach Wes Flanigan said on the postgame radio show. "I knew when he stepped back and he had space he was making it."
It was the fourth three-pointer UALR made in overtime, and it needed each one after blowing a 74-68 lead over Texas State (8-7, 2-4) with 34 seconds left in the extra period.
Kemy Osse gave the Trojans a 62-59 lead with a three-pointer to start the overtime period, Mareik Isom made it 65-60 with another and Osse's three with 1:38 left gave UALR a 72-68 lead.
The Trojans led by as much as 74-68 with 1:08 left after a Marcus Johnson Jr. layup, but Osse missed two free throws with a chance to extend the lead with 34 seconds left.
Texas State's Kavin Gilder-Tilbury made it 74-71 with a three-pointer, and Osse missed two free throws again. Bobby Conley then made another three to tie the game at 74-74 before Hagins' game-winning three.
Isom was 5 of 5 from the field and finished with 14 points, while Lis Shoshi and Osse each had 13 points for UALR, which shot 53.1 percent from the field and made 10 of 15 three-pointers.
Free-throw shooting, normally strong sui, nearly cost UALR the game. The Trojans came into the game shooting a Sun Belt-best 74.7 percent from the line before going 15 of 30 Thursday.
UALR was also lacking defensively for most of the game.
Texas State's Ethan Montalvo made 5 of 10 three-pointers and finished with 28 points, while Gilder-Tilbury had 15 and Ojai Black had 13.
That was all without Emani Gant, a preseason first-team all-Sun Belt pick who was limited to 2 points in 10 minutes while in foul trouble.
UALR Coach Chris Beard switched his starters for the first time since a Nov. 18 victory over Centenary. Guard Marcus Johnson Jr. and forward Roger Woods made their first starts, joining Hagins, Osse and Shoshi.
A Hagins jumper gave UALR a 2-0 lead, but Texas State scored the next 15 points and later led 35-21 with 1:46 left in the half.
The Trojans got within 38-28 at halftime. They outscored the Bobcats 8-2 to start the second half, with an Isom three making it 40-36, but UALR didn't take the lead back until two Hagins free throws with 6:49 left made it 53-52.
A Hagins jumper with 1:53 left gave UALR a 57-56 lead, but a Montalvo three gave Texas State the lead back at 59-57. But Hagins made another key basket, with a jumper to tie the game with 19 seconds left that sent it to overtime.
Sports on 01/22/2016