SUN BELT MEN
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 84, UALR 76
Jordan Jefferson scored a team-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor Thursday night, including 3-of-6 shooting from the three-point line, but it wasn't enough as UALR (1-3) fell to East Tennessee State (3-1) at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn.
A jumper from Ethan Speaker gave the Trojans an 18-8 lead with 13:46 left in the first half, but the Buccaneers went on a 14-0 run over the next 2:42 -- capped by a three-pointer from Jordan King -- to take a 22-18 lead with 11:03 remaining. The teams traded baskets, and the lead, over the next few minutes and the game was tied 29-29 with 5:21 left in the first half. East Tennessee State held a 13-6 scoring advantage for the rest of the half to take a 42-35 halftime lead.
The Buccaneers held a comfortable lead for much of the second half, but the Trojans were able to cut the lead to 80-76 with 48 seconds left on a three-pointer from D.J. Smith. King hit two free throws and DeAnthony Tipler added two more to preserve the win for East Tennessee State.
UALR shot 46.8% (29 of 62) from the floor, hit nine three-pointers and went 9 of 13 (69.2%) from the free-throw line. DeAntoni Gordon had 14 points for the Trojans and Speaker finished with 11.
Tipler finished with a game-high 21 points to lead East Tennessee State, which shot 51.8% (29 of 56) from the floor and was 21 of 42 (50%) from the free-throw line. King had 19 points for the Buccaneers, Justice Smith added 11, while Allen Smothers and Josh Taylor chipped in with 10 each.