Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

1/21/2012 at 7:54pm

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky used a late 13-0 run to hand the UALR men’s basketball team a 65-53 loss on Saturday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Trojans  led 49-44 with 7:12 left in the game, but the Hilltoppers scored 13-unanswered points over the next 6:22 as the Trojans did not make another field goal until the final minute of the game, dropping their second straight Sun Belt Conference game after a 5-0 league start.

Derrick Gordon and Jamal Crook scored 13 points apiece to help the Hilltoppers (6-14, 2-5 in the Sun Belt) prevail in a game which featured 15 lead changes and six tie scores. WKU held UALR to a 33 percent shooting in the second half and forced the Trojans (8-13, 5-2) into 17 turnovers in the game, which it parlayed into a 23-6 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Senior D’Andre Williams led all players with 16 points off a 6-of-11 effort from the field (2 of 3 from three-point range), followed by 14 points and five rebounds from senior Courtney Jackson. Freshman Michael Javes collected a career-high 14 rebounds to help UALR to a plus-2 margin on the glass, and added six points and two blocks over 28 minutes.

The Trojans built a 10-3 lead out of the gate, the largest lead by either team in the first half, highlighted by a pair of dunks by Jackson. Vinny Zollo answered with consecutive three-pointers to get the Hilltoppers back in the game, and WKU took its first lead of the night, 21-20, off a three-point play by Gordon with 6:11 on the clock. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the half, with Williams knocking down a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left to send the Trojans into the locker room with a 28-27 lead.

UALR went on top 38-33 early in the second half off a hook shot by Javes, but the Hilltoppers responded with an 11-3 run over the next 4:25 to take a 44-41 lead. Crook opened the run with a three pointer and then scored on a drive to the hole, and Zollo capped it off by banking in a three-pointer at the top of the arc to put WKU ahead by three with 9:30 to go.

With UALR trailing 44-41, Williams stepped up to score eight unanswered points and put the Trojans ahead 49-44 with 7:12 left to play. The Amarillo, Texas, native hit two three-pointers and then scored on a layup to put the Trojans ahead by five, but it would mark UALR’s last field goal for a stretch of 6:28.

A three-pointer by Kahlil McDonald sparked WKU’s game-clinching 13-0 run, and the Hilltoppers tied things up moments later on a layup by Gordon — one of four consecutive layups by WKU during the 13-0 run. Crook followed with a fastbreak layup off a Trojan turnover and the Hilltoppers never trailed again.

After shooting 54.2 percent from the field in the first half, the Trojans were just 9 of 27 from the floor in the second half. WKU, meanwhile, shot 44.8 percent from the floor in the second half and converted 10 of 12 free-throw attempts. The Hilltoppers outscored the Trojans 13-6 at the foul line on the night, and the WKU reserves outscored UALR’s bench 30-11.

UALR returns to action Thursday night when it welcomes South Alabama to the Jack Stephens Center at 7 p.m.

Information for this report was provided by the UALR sports information office.

Tagged: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Sun Belt Conference, D'Andre Williams, Michael Javes, Courtney Jackson