George Ivory's teams are used to less than ideal nonconference schedules. Challenging Novembers and Decembers at Arkansas-Pine Bluff are regularly put together in hopes of more pleasing results in January and February.
It's been only three games, but so far, the payoff has been as good as any other for Ivory's Golden Lions.
After going 1-13 in the nonconference, UAPB enters this weekend 3-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, one of just two SWAC teams without a league loss and it matches the best start to the SWAC schedule in nine seasons under Ivory. A victory Saturday at Southern would be UAPB's first 4-0 start since rejoining the SWAC in 1997.
A team-wide focus on pressure defense is what has led to the positive start, Ivory said. The Golden Lions had 12 steals in Monday's victory over Alabama A&M and 18 in Saturday's victory over Alabama State. For the season, they're averaging 10.3 steals per game, which ranks fifth in Division I.
Jaquan Lynch leads with 33 steals, 15 coming in three SWAC games, but it's not just him. Joe'Randle Toliver has 27, Trent Steen has 25 while Kennedy McKinney and Ghiavonni Robinson each have 19.
"The way we're playing, we're running and scrambling and pressing, and they're in the right place at the right time," Ivory said. "I think it's being willing to do it. That's the biggest thing."
Ivory said the team dedicated itself to more of a pressure defense this season, and even more so after letting Mississippi Valley State shot 56.6 percent in a 105-91 victory Jan. 2. In the two games since, it beat Alabama State 71-63 and Alabama A&M 81-65.
"That's a goal we had," Ivory said. "... to be really good on defense."
UALR men
More toe issues
Another big toe has UALR worrying about another key piece.
Senior forward Lis Shoshi did not practice Wednesday, and Coach Wes Flanigan said he might not all week heading into Saturday's home game against Arkansas State. Shoshi was wearing a protective boot on his left foot as the team was getting ready to watch film at the Jack Stephens Center on Wednesday, an injury suffered Monday at Coastal Carolina.
Two weeks ago, guard Dayshawn Watkins was lost for the season when he underwent surgery on a broken toe. Flanigan did not indicate that Shoshi's injury is as serious.
"Day to day," he said. "We'll see where he is at later in the week."
Shoshi has started 51 games since arriving at UALR last season, and he is the Trojans' second-leading scorer at 10.3 points per game and leading rebounder at 7.8 points per game this year. He had 10 points and 6 rebounds in Monday's loss and he's averaging 25.8 minutes per game.
"He's a big factor on both ends of the floor," Flanigan said. "He's kind of our stabilizer on defense. A lot of things he covers up on defense for us with his length. If he's not able to go, that'll be a big impact on our team."
UALR doesn't have a ton of experience in the post beyond Shoshi. Senior Maurius Hill has started every game, and sophomore Oliver Black is averaging 3.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per game. But the next tallest player is 6-9 Shandon Goldman, a freshman who is averaging 5.3 minutes per game.
Flanigan said he'll decide on a rotation for a game without Shoshi during this week's practice.
"We'll play the five guys out there that play the hardest in practice and we'll kind of go from there," he said. "To me, it's not who starts that matters, it's who finishes the game."
Arkansas State men
Chain reaction
If nothing else, Arkansas State might have learned during a tough trip to the East Coast just how important senior point guard Donte Thomas is.
Thomas, second in the Sun Belt at 5.8 assists per game, was in foul trouble and barely on the floor at Appalachian State. Two nights later, Thomas suffered a foot injury. The results were similar -- losses to Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State.
ASU is third in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage at 46.7 percent, but shot 35.2 percent at Appalachian State and 36.4 percent at Coastal Carolina. Thomas was without an assist for the second time in his two seasons at ASU while playing only 16 minutes at Coastal Carolina, and he was 0-for-6 from the floor with 2 assists and 5 turnovers in 18 minutes at Appalachian State.
"Donte is such a huge key to our team and when he had a rough night, that carried over to the rest of the team," ASU Coach Grant McCasland said. "From a point guard standpoint, he's such an invaluable leader for us and we're better when he's making plays."
ASU (11-6, 2-2) will play its third consecutive road game at UALR on Saturday, one in which McCasland hopes his team learns lessons from after last week's road trip.
"Everybody is going to be scouted and have a great game plan and do a great job defensively," he said. "So you've got to be able to have some patience offensively and also stay aggressive, and I think that's a delicate balance when you're playing on the road."
Sports on 01/12/2017