SUN BELT MEN

Trojans hammer Jaguars

UALR’s Kamani Johnson and South Alabama’s R.J. Riley vie for a rebound Saturday. Johnson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
UALR’s Kamani Johnson and South Alabama’s R.J. Riley vie for a rebound Saturday. Johnson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

The past three days for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball team were a raging success.

UALR gashed Troy for a 14-point victory Thursday, then steamrolled South Alabama 91-62 on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.

From tip to final horn, the Trojans (7-10, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) dominated the Jaguars at every turn.

The Trojans jumped South Alabama for a season-high-tying 52 points in the first half, equaling their production at Georgetown on Dec. 22.

UALR made 13 of 18 free throws and went 18 of 28 (64.3 percent) from the field in the first 20 minutes.

"Let's just be honest," UALR Coach Darrell Walker said, "we shot the lights out tonight. That helped."

Junior Deondre Burns and sophomore Jaizec Lottie -- two guards Walker said are worthy of starting but who came off the bench Saturday -- contributed 22 and 17 points, respectively. Both were in double figures before halftime.

With an additional six points from sophomore forward Kris Bankston and two more from freshman guard Terrell Curtis II, UALR's bench outscored South Alabama's 47-7. It was the bench's highest output of the season.

"When you can get points off the bench, that is really, really big," Walker said. "I know a lot of people wonder why I start four freshmen. [True freshman forward Horace Wyatt Jr.] starts, and he's still learning the game. But I prefer [Burns] coming off the bench because he's instant offense."

The bench's help was appreciated, especially when junior guard Rayjon Tucker picked up his second foul with 12:35 remaining in the first half. Tucker, UALR's leading scorer at 21.1 points per game prior to Saturday, was forced to the bench with UALR ahead 14-7, and South Alabama had a window to strike.

The Jaguars hit UALR with a 10-7 spurt to cut the lead to 21-17, but Tucker returned with 9:27 remaining and the Trojans went berserk.

UALR outscored South Alabama 31-15 for the rest of the half, including an 18-0 knockout blow that elapsed 4:47 of the clock. Lottie and Burns contributed 12 of the 18 points, and freshman Kamani Johnson's dunk with 57 seconds before halftime capped the run for a 52-27 UALR edge. The Trojans settled for a 52-32 halftime lead.

"They outplayed us in all facets of the game," South Alabama Coach Richie Riley said. "My hat's off to them. They came out ready to go. It meant a lot more to their kids than it did to ours."

The Jaguars would get no closer than 17 points in the second half, and UALR's lead grew to as many as 31 on Nikola Maric's free throw with 5:46 remaining for an 83-52 advantage.

"At halftime, I told my guys we're not getting ready to go out and have you guys think you're playing in the park," Walker said. "We're not playing in the park. A team goes on a 12-0 run, they're right back in the basketball game.

"What I tried to tell my guys was go out with the same intensity that we had in the first half and keep your foot on these guys' throat."

UALR's demolition of South Alabama (9-8, 2-2) completed its first back-to-back Sun Belt Conference victories since Feb. 27 and March 2, 2017, against Georgia Southern 56-54 and South Alabama 62-57..

Thursday and Saturday also gave the Trojans their first back-to-back Sun Belt home victories since 2015-16.

"We're starting to jell a little bit," Walker said.

The Trojans ended the game making 30 of 49 shots (61.2 percent) and 24 of 33 free throws (72.7 percent). Maric added 14 points for the Trojans, while Johnson chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds. Burns had seven rebounds and five assists.

photo

UALR sophomore Jaizec Lottie came off the bench to score 17 points to help the Trojans roll past South Alabama 91-62 on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock. For more photos, go to www.arkansasonline.com/galleries.

Sports on 01/13/2019

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