Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

1/29/2012 at 12:46pm

Image by Mark Wagner

D'Andre Williams had 15 points and 5 assists as UALR defated Denver for sole possession in the Sun Belt West.

Defense was the name of the game for UALR's men basketball team, which limited Denver to just 30 percent from beyond the three-point arc and forced 17 turnovers as the Trojans took sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt West Division with a 64-57 win Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

Denver, which fell to 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the conference, came into the game ranked 12th nationally in three-point shooting, averaging 40.5 percent per outing.

The Trojans (10-13 overall, 7-2 in the Sun Belt) also limited their turnovers to eight.

UALR senior D’Andre Williams scored a team-high 15 points and dished out five assists, while senior Courtney Jackson added 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Freshman Ben Dillard chipped in with a season-high 14 points off the bench, including 11 points in the first half to help UALR to a 29-24 lead at the break.

Dillard’s 14 points off 4-of-5 shooting (2-for-2 from three-point range) helped the UALR reserves outscore Denver’s bench 28-5.

Denver’s Brian Stafford led all scorers with 19 points off 7-of-10 shooting (3-for-5 from three-point range), followed by 14 points from Brett Olson off a 6-of-10 effort from the floor. Chris Udofia added 11 points and matched Chase Hallam with a game-high nine rebounds, as Denver tied UALR on the boards at 28 apiece.

Denver, committed nearly twiced as many fouls as UALR (29-15), sent the Trojans to the line 20 more times than the Pioneers enjoyed, but UALR didn't do as much as it could have with the generosity. UALR hit just 22 of 35 foul shots, but still outscored the Pioneers 22-11 at the line.

Dillard sparked an 8-0 run by the Trojans about midway through the first half for a 17-12 lead, and UALR would never trail again.

Denver hit just 2 of 11 three-pointers in the first half. The Pioneers pulled to within one point early in the second half at 33-32, and was as close as two, 38-36, when UALR put together another 8-0 to take command with 11:17 to play.

UALR's free throw problems — a far cry from Thursday night's win over South Alabama, when the Trojans hit 10 of 10 in the second half of a 75-50 romp — including nine straight misses in the final 10 minutes that let Denver climb back to within four points twice (the last time at 55-51), but no closer. Finally, Will Neighbour and Dillard ended the free-throw difficulties by going 4-for-4.

UALR will enjoy a week off before hosting Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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

Tagged: Sun Belt Conference, Denver Pioneers, Reggie Fondren, Ben Dillard, Will Neighbour, D'Andre Williams