UALR was far from perfect in its 79-75 overtime victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans blew an eight-point lead, then fell into a 10-point hole. After clawing back to take a four-point lead with less than four minutes left, they still had to go to overtime.
It wasn't until the final three minutes of the extra period that UALR finally grabbed control at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock. The Trojans forced stops on three of Louisiana-Monroe's final five possessions and got a driving layup from Jalen Jackson, two free throws from Marcus Johnson Jr. and a clinching free throw from Maurius Hill with 8.7 seconds left.
It was just enough for the Trojans to stop a two-game losing skid and start their Sun Belt schedule with a victory.
"I think all teams go through periods of the game where they don't compete or they don't execute as well as they need to," Coach Wes Flanigan said. "The big thing is making sure you come out of it."
UALR (10-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) had to do it more than once. The final time came in overtime after Travis Munnings' layup gave Louisiana-Monroe a 70-69 lead with 3:13 left, but the Trojans held the Warhawks to just one basket in their final seven shots.
The end negated a sloppy finish to both halves for the Trojans. Louisiana-Monroe (6-8, 0-1) closed the first on a 20-10 run to go up 31-29. In the second half with a 64-60 lead, the Trojans managed just one basket in the final 3:46 of regulation as the Warhawks made four free throws and Sam McDaniel made a tying three-pointer with 38.7 seconds left.
"We got up big, and we just started being lackadaisical on the defensive side," said senior Jalen Jackson, who had 14 points. "We've got to continue to work on that and be more consistent at getting stops. Keep pounding teams instead of letting them back in the game."
The game featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes, the type of game Flanigan and his players thought they would see to open a Sun Belt season that is expected to be tougher than year's past.
"We're defending champions, so everybody is going to amp it up," said senior Maurius Hill, who had a team-high 18 points. "That's just how it's going to be -- day-in, day-out competitive."
UALR shot 50.0 percent (29 of 58) from the floor but committed 18 turnovers, while Louisiana-Monroe shot 49.7 percent and made 11 of 29 three-pointers. The Warhawks, whom the Trojans beat in the Sun Belt Tournament final last year, erased the Trojans' first-half lead and built theirs in the second half with the three-pointer.
Nick Coppola's consecutive threes cut UALR's lead to 21-16 in the first half, then Munnings' three with a minute left before half gave Louisiana-Monroe a 30-27 lead.
Jordon Harris, Munnings, McDaniel and Coppola each hit threes in the first 10 minutes of the second half to give the Warhawks a 52-42 lead. Many of them were contested on the perimeter by the outstretched arms of 6-11 Lis Shoshi.
"We've got to live with those," Flanigan said. "We're there to contest the three and he makes it, it's part of our defense, we move on to the next play."
The Warhawks tied a season-high with 11 threes, but after Coppola's shot made it 52-42, they made just 3 of 13 in the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime.
With the Warhawks missing, the Trojans were able to chip back. Johnson's first basket of the game came on a three with 10:25 left, then Jackson followed with a driving floater and Shoshi made two free throws to get within 52-49. Shoshi made two more free throws to get within 58-57 with 5:26 left, then Johnson's drive through the right side of the lane gave the Trojans a 61-60 lead.
UALR would need another spurt when overtime began, but it got one just in time.
"Our guys responded," Flanigan said. "We talked about being an unselfish team, being a team that plays hard in the first game, and I thought we did that. Now we have to get ready for another game."
Sports on 01/01/2017