BTH Analysis: Easy victory makes for simple UALR rotation

UALR Coach Steve Shields didn't have to do much in the way of substituting in Monday's 88-68 victory over Grambling. UALR took control of the game pretty early and rolled to an easy victory.

As a result, the rotation graphic is the cleanest of the year.

Ben Dillard and Leroy Isler each came in a team best +24 in the plus/minus ratings.

And UALR won three of the four factors to victory. The only loss was in turnover percentage. Most of that damage was done in the game's first 10 minutes.

BTH Morning After: We still have a lot to learn about this UALR team

With the exception of one slip up on opening night, UALR did what it was supposed to do in the nonconference portion of its schedule. That concluded on Monday with an 88-68 victory over Grambling State at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

When we lined out the nonconference portion of the schedule, 6-6 seemed like a pretty good bet. And UALR would have gotten there if not for a loss to North Florida in the opening game of the season.

Otherwise, the Trojans pretty much did what they were supposed to do. They beat Southern, Southern Arkansas, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Jacksonville State and Grambling. And they lost to Florida, Middle Tennessee, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Memphis and Southern Miss.

If you excuse the opening-night hiccup, we really haven’t learned much about this UALR team. That leaves a lot of question marks going into Thursday’s Sun Belt Conference opener against Texas State. Opponents will now become much more like UALR is. And we’ll really start to find out whether this Trojan team can live up to expectations.

BURN UNIT

We talked with UALR Coach Steve Shields about freshman post Andrew Poulter’s possible debut against Grambling on Monday. Not wanting to assume anything, he wasn’t willing to say Poulter, who was recently cleared but is not yet in game shape, would play. But with a big second-half lead, he played the final four minutes. He finished with 4 points and a foul.

TROJAN MAN

For the second-consecutive game, UALR sophomore James White was nearly unstoppable. He finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. But he got those numbers by going 7 for 7 from the field and 2 of 2 at the free throw line.

INJURY UPDATE

After the game, Coach Steve Shields said junior point guard J.T. Thomas was headed back to the doctor for a MRI early next week.

STAT OF THE GAME

UALR made 14 of 20 field-goal attempts for 70 percent in the first half.

GLASS HALF FULL

Junior Ben Dillard got his first start of the season and finished with 13 points and 2 assists.

GLASS HALF EMPTY 

UALR committed 16 turnovers, including 4 by senior Will Neighbour and 4 by sophomore Kemy Osse.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Get out of the gate: After a mildly slow start, UALR pulled out to a 39-23 halftime lead. Grade: B.

Build confidence: Every Trojan who played scored and everyone except freshman Andrew Pulter played at least 9 minutes. Grade: A.

Pedal to the metal:  UALR continued to step on the gas early in the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 32 points with 12:57 left.  Grambling reduced that amount during Garbage time but the game was well out of hand. Grade: A.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

No line was ever set.

UP NEXT

UALR goes to San Marcos, Texas, to take on Texas State on Thursday in the Sun Belt  Conference opener. Texas State dropped to 4-9 on the season with a 73-64 home loss to Long Island University last night. The Bobcats are coached by Danny Kaspar in his first season there. He was the longtime coach at Stephen F. Austin.

UALR overpowers overmatched Grambling 88-68

UALR overpowered an overmatched Grambling State on Monday night, winning 88-68 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR was a little loose with the ball at the start but quickly pulled away from Grambling, which has only one victory this season – against a non-Division I school – and a loss to NAIA Lyon College.

But UALR seized control by the game’s second media timeout, pushed the lead to 16 at halftime and to more than 30 points in the second half. Only a late garbage time run by Grambling made the score a little more respectable.

UALR improves to 5-7 on the season and begins Sun Belt Conference play Thursday night at Texas State.
Sophomore James White led UALR with 16 points. Senior Will Neighbour added 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Neighbour made a solid 7 of 11 field-goal attempts but made only 1 of 4 free throws.

 Junior Ben Dillard, making his first start to the season, added 13 points. Sophomore Josh Hagins, who had been starting at the 2 guard, spent much of his time at the point on Monday. He attempted only two shots and finished with 2 points. But he had a team-high 7 assists without a turnover.

UALR trailed 5-4 early before taking its first, and only, lead of the game with 15:09 left on a jumper by Neighbour.  Dillard was key early in the half, Neighbour late as the Trojans took control. After shooting 70 percent from the field in the first half, UALR’s lead was 39-23 at intermission.

UALR made 34 of 57 field goals (60 percent) while holding Grambling to 25 of 63 (40 percent). Again, Grambling’s percentage was on the rise after the game was long decided. UALR held a 43-27 rebounding advantage and had 23 assists on its 34 made field goals.

The negative was turnovers. UALR had 16 while forcing Grambling into 14.

BTH Ballot: Who was tonight's UALR player of the game vs. Grambling?

  
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BTH Live Tweetcast: UALR vs. Grambling updates at 7

7 PM TONIGHT
UALR hosts Grambling State at 7 p.m. tonight at the Jack Stephens Center. It's the final nonconference game of the year and only the fourth home game for the Trojans.

Game preview/notes
Lineups/Rotations/Statistics
Predictions

Game is scheduled for KABZ-FM 103.7.

Who ya got? UALR vs. Grambling St. predictions

Las Vegas Line: No line set
OmniRankings: UALR by 26
Real Time RPI: UALR 87, Grambling 77
CBS Sports: UALR 84, Grambling 65
Jeff Sagarin Ratings: UALR 71, Grambling 55
The Sports Network: TBA
Average margin: UALR by 17.8
Average score: UALR 80.7, Grambling 65.7

UALR needs Neighbour's numbers on the rise again

If UALR is to make a Sun Belt Conference run, it needs more from senior forward Will Neighbour.

Wait, you say. Isn’t Neighbour leading UALR at 16.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game? He is. But as UALR prepares for tonight’s 7 p.m. matchup against Grambling State, Neighbour’s numbers are trending downward in recent games.

They still aren’t bad. In the past four games, Neighbour has two double-doubles. But his scoring average has been five points fewer than it was in the first seven games. He’s still getting basically the same number of attempts as he was early in the season, he’s just not making as many shots.

He shoots 54 percent from the field this season. But he shot 60 percent in the first seven games and 42 percent since. He shoots 45 percent from the three-point line. But he shot 53 percent in the first seven games and 33 percent since.

Why? It's certainly not for a lack of effort. Neighbour plays as hard as anyone night in and night out.

Perhaps it was just the grind of so much travel and so many road games. A little break at Christmas might make a world of difference.

Or it could just be the attention he's getting. There’s no doubt opposing teams are keying heavily on Neighbour, making him work for everything he’s getting. That won’t change. But if that happens, UALR has to have others make opponents pay for overplaying Neighbour. And that hasn’t consistently happened yet.

BURN UNIT

This is the final nonconference game for UALR, which will open Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday in San Marcos, Texas, against Texas State. With its 4-7 record, UALR’s nonconference season hasn’t been all that different from 2011-20012. UALR was 3-11 in nonconference games that season.  But UALR went on the road and won the first two Sun Belt games (at North Texas and Denver) and ended up winning the West Division with a 12-4 conference record.

INJURY REPORT

Both junior point guard J.T. Thomas and freshman post Andrew Poulter are continuing to get closer to returning to action, but it doesn’t appear either will be ready to go tonight.

Thomas has missed the past seven games after getting injured Nov. 22 against Southern. He is continuing to progress but has not been able to resume full speed basketball drills. Poulter hasn’t played at all this season but was recently cleared to resume basketball activities. He now needs to get into sufficient game shape in order to be available for minutes.

UPDATE (10:56 AM): Thomas is definitely out tonight and likely headed back for MRI. He's apparently no closer to returning at this point.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Get out of the gate: Grambling has already played since Christmas but UALR hasn’t. The Trojans need a fast start tonight.

Build Confidence: UALR needs some productive minutes from the likes of Mareik Isom, Stetson Billings and Maurius Hill tonight.

Pedal to the metal: We’ve seen UALR get off to some good starts. But they’ve been unable to put someone away. We’re looking for UALR to deliver the knockout punch they’ve been missing this season.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

No line for tonight’s game. It appears Vegas hasn’t set a line on a Grambling game this season.

BTH Up Next: UALR (4-7) vs. Grambling State (1-7)

TROJANS VS. TIGERS

WHEN 7 p.m., Monday, December 30
WHERE Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock
LAST MEETING UALR 93, Grambling 69 (Dec. 21, 2001 at Grambling, La.)
ALL-TIME SERIES UALR leads 16-7
TV None
RADIO Scheduled for KABZ-FM 103.7
TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com
CLICK TO ENLARGE
GAME NOTES Grambling dropped to 1-7 on the season with a 96-61 loss at Evansville on Saturday. ... UALR and Grambling are meeting for the first time in 12 seasons.... UALR has never lost to Grambling in Division I play. The Trojans are 14-0 vs. the Tigers since joining NCAA Division I in 1979.

Players producing at both ends of the court missing for UALR

One of the interesting dilemmas surrounding this UALR team has been which combination to have in the game at any particular time. That's just because there hasn't been a group of five that has gotten it done at both ends of the court.

So far this season, the top five team offensive players (team points per minute) have been: 
1. Ben Dillard 1.88 
2. Josh Hagins 1.87 
3. Will Neighbour 1.84 
4. Leroy Isler 1.78 
5. DeVonte Smith 1.76 

For example, in theory, if Ben Dillard played 40 minutes a game, UALR would average 75.2 points per game.

But it's nearly a completely different list when you look at the top five defensive players (team points per minute):
1. Gus Leeper 1.68
2. J.T. Thomas 1.81
3. Leroy Isler 1.85
4. James White 1.86
5. Will Neighbour 1.91

As you can see, only Isler and Neighbour make the top five on both lists. It also shows that since J.T. Thomas' injury, his production has been missed most on the defensive end.


The eight players who made either of these lists are: Smith, Thomas, Hagins, Dillard, Isler, White, Neighbour and Leeper. 

Who was tonight's UALR player of the game vs. Southern Miss?

  
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UALR collapses in second half, again, in loss to Southern Miss

Once the tidal wave started, it washed UALR away with ease.

UALR fell apart early in the second half on Saturday and lost 74-60 to Southern Miss in the championship game of the BVI Tropical Shootout at Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

UALR led for much of a back-and-forth first half and only trailed 33-28 at halftime after a late Southern Miss run. But Southern Miss rolled early in the second half, building a 20-plus point lead and cruising to victory.

UALR drops to 4-7 on the season with one nonconference game remaining after Christmas against Grambling. Southern Miss improves to 11-2.

The second half collapse by UALR was reminiscent of losses to Tulsa, Memphis, Florida, North Florida and even Southern. UALR’s inability to flip an opponents’ run was again obvious on Saturday.

Sophomore James White was nearly unstoppable for UALR. He made 8 of 11 field goals and finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds. Senior Will Neighbour added 12 points and 4 rebounds. Sophomore Josh Hagins had 9, all in the first half.

In fact, those three were the only Trojan players who scored in the first 2/3 of action.

UALR also had three technical fouls in the game. The first game before the opening tipoff when sophomore Stetson Billings was called for a pregame dunk. The second came when White hung on the rim after a dunk. And the third went to UALR Coach Steve Shields, frustrated during Southern Miss’ run.

UALR shot 50 percent in the first half but ended up only 20 of 46 for 43 percent. After making 8 of 12 three-pointers on Friday, UALR made 6 of 20 threes on Saturday.

UALR got outrebounded 33-27 and committed 15 turnovers to Southern Miss’ 11.

BTH Live Tweetcast: UALR vs. Southern Miss updates from BVI

UALR takes on Southern Miss in the championship game of the BVI Tropical Shootout in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We're expecting tip time to be just before 7:15


BTH Preview: Too few minutes a problem/blessing at times for UALR

The past two games have illustrated something about this UALR basketball team that is both a strength and somewhat of a problem.

There is not enough minutes to go around as UALR wraps up play in the BVI Tropical Shootout in the championship game at 7 p.m. CST tonight against Southern Miss at Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

The biggest logjam comes in at the 2 guard position with junior Ben Dillard and sophomores Josh Hagins and Kemy Osse splitting the time there. The way it has worked out lately has been Hagins getting the bulk of the minutes. Spelling him are Dillard and Osse. Whoever plays better in the first half, gets the minutes in the second half.

Last night it was Dillard coming in off the bench to score eight consecutive points in a first-half run, including two three-pointers. But Dillard only got 13 minutes of action because he was in serious foul trouble most of the game. That opened the door for Osse, who hit a couple of big shots. In reality, it worked to perfection. Hagins finished with 16, Dillard 18 and Osse 5. And UALR won.

Last Friday against Memphis, Osse had the better of the play in the first half. And Dillard didn’t even get on the court in the second half. Unfortunately there’s going to be nights like that when minutes don’t add up for everyone. But it’s a nice problem to have when you have two pretty good options to replace the starter when needed.

BURN UNIT

Southern Miss Coach Donnie Tyndall, who we know from his days as a Kermit Davis assistant at Middle Tennessee, must be a brave man. Playing against Coppin State last night in the British Virgin Islands, Tyndall only got British Virgin Islander Norville “Banana” Carey eight minutes of action in front of his hometown fans. Carey finished with 7 points but saw the fewest minutes of any Golden Eagle player.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Come to paint: UALR utilized its inside size advantage to perfection against Jacksonville State. The only problem was that Will Neighbour and James White shot poor percentages from the field. Those two have to score tonight.

Free your mind: Not sure what it is about the rims at the Multi-Purpose Building in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, but free throws weren’t going in last night. UALR was 4-9 in the first half and finished 15-24. Southern Miss was just 12-30 in its victory over Coppin State.

Ready to go: Not sure what type of crowd showed up for the games last night, but there’s no doubt the British Virgin Islanders will be rooting for Southern Miss and Norville Carey. UALR needs to get off to another good start tonight to neutralize some of that energy.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

Southern Miss is a 9.5-point favorite in Las Vegas.

BTH Up Next: UALR (4-6) vs. Southern Miss (10-2)

TROJANS VS. GOLDEN EAGLES

WHEN 7 p.m. CST tonight
WHERE Multi-Purpose Building, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
ALL-TIME SERIES Southern Miss leads 4-0
LAST MEETING Southern Miss 70, UALR 54 (Dec. 21, 2002)
RADIO Scheduled for 106.7
TV None
TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com
CLICK TO ENLARGE

BTH Morning After: UALR survives serious foul trouble to advance

With UALR playing tomorrow night, we'll go ahead and get the BTH Morning After out ahead of schedule.

UALR survived the most serious of foul trouble to beat Jacksonville State 75-70 in the opening game of the BVI Tropical Shootout on Friday night at Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Yet, amazingly, UALR didn’t have a single player foul out of the game thanks to superb use of the bench by UALR Coach Steve Shields.

UALR finished with two players with four fouls (DeVonte Smith and Ben Dillard), and three players with three fouls (Leroy Isler, James White and Gus Leeper). That doesn’t sound all that bad. But the reality was that, minus the third for Leeper and White, this was UALR’s foul situation early in the second half.

Dillard picked up his third late in the first half and Smith and Isler got their third early in the second half. Dillard then got his fourth soon after re-entering the game in the second half.

But Josh Hagins and Will Neighbour weren’t in foul trouble and they kept UALR ahead until reinforcements arrived from the bench.

BURN UNIT

UALR went without radio for the first half of the game. Then when the signal finally showed up on Heartbeat 106.7 it was the Jacksonville State broadcast. It was the culmination of a series of events not fitting for UALR fans.

First, UALR play by play broadcaster Ray Tucker didn’t make the trip to the British Virgin Islands. Why? We were told Tucker couldn’t locate his passport. Then there was some sort of issue getting Jacksonville State’s play-by-play signal on the air in Little Rock.

However, enterprising fans listened to the game on Jacksonville State’s Web  broadcast, which worked the entire game. The only problem was their announcer calling Will Neighbour “Wes” and mispronouncing Leroy Isler’s name throughout. But, hey, at least he made the flight.

Sucks for local advertisers who didn't get to pitch their products to us tonight. Perhaps they'll get a refund.

No word on tonight’s radio.

STAT OF THE GAME

8 of 12. UALR shot 67 percent from the three-point line, making 8 of 12. Ben Dillard made 3 of 4, Josh Hagins 2 of 3, Kemy Osse 1 of 1, Leroy Isler 1 of 1 and Will Neighbour 1 of 3.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Ben Dillard provided a huge first-half spark in scoring a career high 18 points to lead UALR. Dillard made 5 of 6 field goals, including 3 of 4 three-pointers. He also made 5 of 6 free throws and had a steal.

GLASS HALF FULL

UALR held a 40-27 advantage in rebounds. That included 12 from James White, 10 from Will Neighbour and 6 from Josh Hagins.

GLASS HALF EMPTY

UALR won despite a subpar game offensively from Will Neighbour. He finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. But he made only 3 of 10 field goals and never got untracked offensively.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Don’t pass glass: UALR won rebunds 40-27. Grade: A.

Punch the clock: Despite two lengthy travel days to get there, UALR was ready to play from the start and never trailed on Friday. Grade: A.

Confidence in Twos: Ben Dillard (18 points), Josh Hagins (16 points) and Kemy Osse (5 points) were all more than solid at the 2 Guard position. Grade: A.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

UALR was a favorite for the first time this season and covered the three points.

UP NEXT

Waiting on the Southern Miss-Coppin State final. UALR gets the winner on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Central.


UALR never trails, never gets comfortable in 75-70 victory over Jacksonville St.

UALR never trailed but never felt any sense of comfort on Friday. It was about as tense as the trip from Little Rock to the British Virgin Islands that took more than 36 hours.

Still, UALR responded every time they had to on Friday, beating Jacksonville State 75-70 in the opening game of the BVI Tropical Shootout at Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. UALR (4-6) advances to the championship game and will play the winner of Southern Miss and Coppin State at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.

Junior Ben Dillard came off the bench to score 18 points to lead UALR. Sophomore Josh Hagins had 16 points. Senior Will Neighbour had an off night shooting, making just 3 of 10 field goals. But Neighbour gutted it out, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore James White nearly matched that double-double with 9 points and 12 rebounds.

UALR shot an amazing 54 percent from the field and an even better 8 of 12 from three-point range. That more than made up the deficit the Trojans faced at the free throw line. UALR made 15 of 24 to Jacksonville State’s 16 of 30. But several of those 15 makes came in the final minute as the Trojans were holding off the Gamecocks. UALR also outrebounded Jacksonville State 40-27.

Darion Rackley led Jacksonville State (5-9) with 17 points. JSU shot 46 percent from the field.

UALR never trailed and the game was only tied once. And UALR built a 10-point lead on a couple of occasions. But they could never shake the Gamecocks.

After taking a 56-46 lead on nine-consecutive points by Josh Hagins, UALR gave up the next nine as JSU cut the lead to 1. UALR answered a couple of times to keep the lead before a three-pointer by Avery Moore tied the game 60-60, the first tie of the game.

Neighbour missed a thre-pointer for UALR and Moore missed for Jacksonville State. Then senior Leroy Isler put the Trojans in front for good. He hit only his seventh three-pointer of the season, then flipped in another shot in the paint for a 65-61 UALR lead.

UALR then started getting to the free throw line and converting. Dillard hit a pair, Isler made 1 of 2 and Neighbour made 2 of 3 to keep the lead 75-70. And the Trojans hung on.

Who was tonight's UALR player of the game vs. Jacksonville State?

  
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BTH Live Tweetcast: UALR vs. Jacksonville State updates at 5 pm

UALR takes on Jacksonville State at 5 p.m. tonight at the BVI Tropical Shootout in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Lineups, stats and more
Game preview
Predictions

We'll do the best we can to give live updates from tonight's game right here on our Live Tweetcast.

Who ya got? BTH's UALR vs. Jacksonville State predictions

Las Vegas Line: UALR by 3
OmniRankings: UALR by 7
CBS Sportsline: UALR 71, Jacksonville State 69
The Sports Network: UALR 77, Jacksonville State 74
RealTime RPI: UALR 77, Jacksonville State 71
Jeff Sagarin Ratings: UALR 65, Jacksonville State 62
-------------------------------
BTH Average: UALR 72.5, Jacksonville State 69.0
Combined margin prediction: UALR by 4

BTH Preview: UALR's nonconference success comes down to two games, starts tonight

It will be really easy to rate UALR’s nonconference season.

It goes like this as the Trojans prepare to take on Jacksonville State at 5 p.m. tonight at Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. UALR will play that game tonight as part of the BV I Tropical Shootout. They’ll also play on Saturday against either Southern Miss or Coppin State.

Win two games and UALR has a chance at a .500 nonconference season against an extremely difficult schedule. That would no doubt be considered a tremendous success.

Split the trip and finish at least one game below.500 for nonconference play. That wouldn’t be considered a disaster but would definitely be a disappointment.

Lose both games and the sky starts falling. That would make for a disastrous nonconference season.

Winning both games won’t be easy. UALR (3-6) is a four-point favorite tonight against Jacksonville State (5-8).  But Jacksonville State no doubt believes they’re winning tonight and they’ll have some confidence. Just before leaving for BVI, Jacksonville State played its best game of the season in an 82-73 victory over Central Michigan.

BURN UNIT

No excuses. That’s the message UALR Coach Steve Shields sent his team after travel delays turned a 12-hour trip into a 34-hour excursion. UALR arrived in BVI after dark on Thursday night and was able to practice Friday morning in Tortola. Meanwhile, Jacksonville State players were Tweeting photos of the beautiful landscapes BVI has to offer as early as Thursday morning.

INJURY REPORT

We know junior J.T. Thomas made the trip to Tortola. We don’t know his injury status for this weekend’s games. We’re not sure about the status of Jacksonville State’s D.J. Felder. He started the first 12 games of the season and then didn’t play on Tuesday vs. Central Michigan. But we can’t find any reference to him getting hurt.  He is listed as a starter in Jacksonville State’s game notes but they also say that is “the Gamecocks’ last time out.” And he didn’t play last time out. Stay tuned.

FAMILIAR FACE

Jacksonville State is coached by former Southern Miss Coach James Green.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Don’t Pass Glass: In Jacksonville State’s five victories this season, the Gamecocks have a +7.2 rebounding margin. In their eight losses, they have a -5.7 rebounding margin. Control the glass and have a chance to win.

Punch the Clock: UALR has had virtually no time to explore the British Virgin Islands at this point. They need to be locked in tonight from the start. Jacksonville State will be confident after their victory earlier this week and will try to bury the Trojans early.

Confidence in Twos: UALR needs another solid effort from its 2 guards tonight, starting with sophomore Josh Hagins. When Hagins plays well, UALR plays well. And the Trojans need him tonight.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

UALR started as a three-point favorite. The line has since moved to four points. It’s the first time this season UALR has been favored on a Las Vegas line.

BTH Up Next: UALR (3-6) vs. Jacksonville State (5-8)

BVI Tropical Shootout

Trojans vs. Gamecocks

WHEN 5 p.m. Central, Friday, December 20
WHERE Multi-Purpose complex, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
ALL-TIME SERIES First meeting
TV Apparently none
RADIO Hopefully Heartbeat 106.7
TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com
CLICK TO ENLARGE

Delayed flight detours UALR's trip to British Virgin Islands

What was already supposed to be a long travel day has become two long travel days as UALR attempts to get to Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

UALR is scheduled to play at 5 p.m. (Central) on Friday against Jacksonville State in the BVI Tropical Shootout in Road Town, Tortola. 

The Trojans were supposed to spend all day Wednesday traveling, practice and experience the island on Thursday and then play on Friday. But Delta Airline delays left the team stranded in Atlanta Wednesday night.

UALR players had a 3:30 a.m. wakeup call for a 4:10 a.m. bus to Little Rock National Airport. Their flight was supposed to depart for Atlanta at 6 a.m. With the traveling party of 24 sitting on the plane, a delay announcement was made. Then another. Then another. Then they were deplaned.

The new schedule had them arriving in Atlanta at 10:08 a.m., about 25 minutes after their flight from Atlanta to San Juan, Puerto Rico was scheduled to depart. But Delta wouldn't hold that flight and UALR missed it.

There was another flight to San Juan, but it was full and UALR couldn't board. However, Delta put their baggage on that flight. Therefore, all the bags, uniforms, etc., all went to Puerto Rico without them.

So they'll stay in Atlanta tonight with only the clothes on their backs. And they'll fly to San Juan on separate airplanes. Eventually, they'll fly, again on different planes, from San Juan to Tortola. One group will arrive at 5:40 p.m. The other group arrives at 8:40 p.m. 

The one, and maybe only, silver lining is that the Atlanta Hawks are hosting the Sacramento Kings tonight and they'll be going. Not exactly a consolation but at least it will pass the time.

Flight delays UALR travel, team won't arrive at BVI until Thursday


UALR schedule set for BVI Tropical Shootout

UALR appears to once again be good to go for this week's BVI Tropical Shootout in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

In case you missed last week's story about the near cancellation of this event, click here.

UALR will play in the opening game on Friday at 5 p.m. against Jacksonville State. UALR will wear maroon jerseys for that game. The second game will feature Southern Miss as the home team and Coppin State as the visitors. FYI, Southern Miss' Norville "Banana" Carey is from the BVI.

If UALR wins, the Trojans will be the home team for Saturday's championship game at 7 p.m. against the Southern Miss-Coppin State winner. If UALR loses, it will be the visiting team for the consolation game at 5 p.m.

UALR will spend all day on Wednesday traveling to BVI. Jacksonville State and Coppin State are also traveling that day. Southern Miss, however, won't be. They're playing against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky., Wednesday night. They'll travel to BVI on Thursday.

All times are Central.

If locals attend, expect them to root heavily for their hometown kid.

Friday

5 p.m. - UALR vs. Jacksonville State
7 p.m. - Coppin State vs. Southern Miss

Saturday

5 p.m. - Consolation game
7 p.m. - Championship

Curious about where UALR is headed this week? Check out Tortola, BVI

Just where is UALR headed this week? Check out the info on Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

The Experience 

Known as “the land that time forgot,” the British Virgin Islands remains an undeveloped haven for natural 
treasures; what the destination lacks is its greatest asset -- no high-rise hotels, no casinos and no crowds 

Mystical, lush and inspiring with 60 storied islands, the destination lures adventurers, romantics and 
escapists with verdant hillsides covered in ancient mahogany trees and cacti, pristine beaches kissed by 
Technicolor tides, a colourful aquarium of the world’s most diverse sea life, extensive coral reefs 
responsible for claiming renowned wrecks, vast outbacks and wildlife sanctuaries sheltering endangered 
species 

Location 

Situated between the deep waters of the Atlantic and the glittering Caribbean Sea, just east of Puerto 
Rico. Other nearby neighbours include the United States Virgin Islands, located to the immediate south 
west of the BVI 

Most islands lay in a distinct formation flanked around the Sir Frances Drake Channel -- including the 
main island of Tortola creating the backbone of the Channel, Virgin Gorda stretching to form the eastern 
border, Jost Van Dyke lingering in the west, Anegada dangling remotely north in the Atlantic and a series 
of smaller islands speckled in the south 

Portrait 

Rising majestically out of the Caribbean Sea, the islands, nearly all mountainous with lush elevations, 
envelope visitors in the relaxing embrace of Caribbean lifestyle 

Tortola 

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BTH Analysis: Leeper's limited minutes continue to be a plus for UALR

Friday's Rotation
When you analyze statistics, especially nontraditional statistics like plus/minus, you have to take it with a grain of salt. Still, some things continue to be present game after game. That’s the case with junior forward Gus Leeper.

Leeper played only 12 minutes in Friday night’s loss at Memphis. He didn’t score, had only 2 rebounds and missed his only two field goal attempts. But while he was in the game, UALR outscored Memphis 18-13.

And it’s not a one-time occurrence. Leeper is +13 for the season, making him +1.4 for each game played. UALR is +0.11 for every minute Leeper has played this season. That’s not a huge number. If he played 30 minutes it would translate to UALR outscoring its opponent by 3.3 when he was in. But it’s a bigger number than anyone else has put up this season.


Leeper and sophomore Kemy Osse (+3 in 14 minutes) were the only two Trojans on the plus side on Friday.

BTH Morning After: UALR succumbs to FedEx Forum atmosphere

UALR has played some tough road games so far this season. But none matched the crowd support Memphis had for Friday’s game at FedEx Forum.

UALR led for much of the game before succumbing to a late Memphis rally before 15,821. UALR had played before 8,843 at Florida (it looked like 1/3 that actually there), 4,102 at Middle Tennessee (see Florida), 1,381 at Southern (see Florida), 10,921 at Oklahoma (see Florida), and 3,780 at Tulsa.

“Obviously, it is a very tough place to play,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “We’ve played six of our first nine games on the road and five teams that made the [NCAA] Tournament last year. That will help us down the road, but it is a tough task to ask of these guys.”

It was UALR that took it to Memphis early.

“Arkansas-Little Rock kicked our butt for most of the game, so you have to give them credit,” Memphis Coach Josh Pastner said. “Fortunately, we found a way to win the game.”

UALR held Memphis to 39 percent for the game but the Tigers shot 52 percent in the second half. Memphis also had a 28-8 advantage in points off turnovers. One extreme positive was fast-break points, which has been a tough stat for the Trojans early this season. UALR won 8-6 there.

“I thought overall our guys gave great effort, and they played extremely hard,” Shields said. “I thought they played well together, especially with the ball movement on the court.”

BURN UNIT
Memphis improved to 5-0 all-time vs. UALR with the victory on Friday. But UALR has had good showings in each of the past three meetings. In 2008, UALR was in that game before falling late 59-51 at FedEx Forum. In 2009, Memphis used a scoring spurt to pull away from UALR 83-71 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. And Friday’s game was close for 35 minutes.

TROJAN MAN
Tremendous bounceback game for sophomore guard Josh Hagins. He finished with 17 points, making 3 of 6 three-pointers.

STAT OF THE GAME
Memphis was 3 of 6 from the free throw line in the first half and 17 of 21 in the second half. That’s tough to overcome.

GLASS HALF FULL
UALR senior Will Neighbour was a focus of Memphis’ defense on Friday. He still finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals.

GLASS HALF EMTPY
UALR had 17 turnovers on Friday, nine of which came from 2 Guards Josh Hagins (5), Kemy Osse (3) and Ben Dillard (1).

KEYS TO VICTORY
A Fine Line: UALR was 14 of 21 at the free throw line, while Memphis was 20 of 27. Memphis went to the free throw line 21 times in the second half alone. Grade: D.

Two Strong: Sophomore Josh Hagins had 17 points, sophomore Kemy Osse added 8 and junior Ben Dillard 1. Twenty-six points from those three was what UALR needed. They would have aced this if not for their nine turnovers. Grade: B-.

Turning Point: UALR had 17 turnovers to Memphis’ 14 but Memphis held a 28-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Grade: D-.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
UALR was a 22-point underdog, making the Trojans a Vegas winner for the first time this season.

UP NEXT
UALR takes on Jacksonville State on Friday in the British Virgin Islands. The Gamecocks are 4-7 on the season, going into Saturday’s game with Dartmouth. They also play again on Tuesday before leaving.

UALR-Memphis game recap and highlights

UALR hangs with No. 15 Memphis before late 11-1 run

UALR went toe-to-toe with No. 15 Memphis for 35 minutes on Friday. Moral victories don’t count but there is plenty to build on from UALR’s 73-59 loss at FedEx Forum.

UALR led the majority of the game before a second-half run by Memphis put the game away.
 
For the second-consecutive game, UALR blew a halftime lead. But this game felt a lot different than Tuesday's 14-point loss at Tulsa. UALR lost both games by 14 points. But on Friday, the Trojans earned a bit of respect.

Sophomore Josh Hagins led UALR with 17 points while senior Will Neighbour had 15 points.  But it was really an offensive struggle all night for UALR. The Trojans shot 36 percent from the field and made 7 of 20 (35 percent) three-pointers.

Memphis wasn’t much better, making 39 percent of their field goals and 30 percent of their three-pointers. Memphis outscored UALR 20-14 at the free throw line and held a 41-32 rebound advantage.

That was where the game turned in the second half.

UALR jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead and still held a 31-24 lead at halftime on a three-pointer by sophomore Kemy Osse at the buzzer.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Hagins and Neighbour pushed the lead to 39-28 early in the second half. UALR had chances to extend the lead further but turned the ball over on two of its next three possessions. And Memphis started to crawl back in it.

A three-pointer by Chris Crawford gave Memphis a 42-41 lead with 11:44 left.

UALR re-took the lead 46-45 on two free throws by junior DeVonte Smith with 9:42 left. And the Trojans still held a 48-46 lead at the under 8 minute media timeout.

Memphis went on an 11-1 run, finishing on two free throws from Joe Jackson with 4:13 left. It gave the Tigers a 58-49 advantage.

UALR returns to action next Friday, taking on Jacksonville State in British Virgin Islands.

BTH Ballot: Who was tonight's UALR player of the game vs. Memphis?

Who was tonight's UALR player of the game vs. Memphis?
  
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