Tigers Use Big Second Half To Knock Off Trojans, 83-71

The Trojans took a 34-29 lead into the break, but Memphis scored 54 points in the second half and knocked down nine of its 12 three-pointers after the intermission. Roburt Sallie added 18 points for the Tigers after going 4-of-7 from three-point range, while Doneal Mack and Pierre Niles-Henderson chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Memphis never held a lead in the first half, but the Tigers ripped off an 18-4 run at the start of the second half and never trailed again. After shooting just 38.5 percent in the first half, the Tigers came to life in the second half, making 10-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range over the first 10 minutes.  "I thought our guys showed real fight and togetherness in the first half. We were obviously disappointed with the way we started the second half," said UALR head coach Steve Shields. "We knew they would come out with an edge about themselves and we would have to match their intensity."  Junior Solomon Bozeman led all players with a season-high 23 points off 9-of-18 shooting, while junior Matt Mouzy added 16 points off the bench. Senior Mike Smith contributed 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds to help the Trojans to a +7 margin on the glass (37-to-30).  The Tigers outshot the Trojans 50.0 percent to 41.9 percent for the game, but UALR limited its turnovers to 12 against a Memphis squad which came in forcing an average of 20.7 turnovers per game. Williams went 11-of-15 from the foul line en route to his team-high 21 points, while the Trojans were a combined 13-of-17 at the charity stripe as a team.  UALR took a five-point lead into the break, 34-29, after a strong first half in which the Trojans went 5-of-9 from three-point range and played to a +9 margin on the glass (24-to-15). UALR shot just 32.3 percent over the first 20 minutes but grabbed 10 offensive rebounds - compared to three by the Tigers. 

Mouzy led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, going 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range. The Jonesboro, Ark.-native combined with Bozeman (nine points) and sophomore Kelson Stewart (six) to score 26 of UALR's 34 points in the first half.  Leading 17-16 after a bucket by Wesley Witherspoon at the 8:14 mark, Bozeman scored seven-unanswered points for the Trojans to give UALR a 23-16 lead with 5:57 to go. The Tigers were whistled for 12 personal fouls in the first half, with Witherspoon and Williams both picking up three. Williams, the team's leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, was called for his third foul with 6:10 remaining and went to the bench for the remainder of the half.  Memphis used three pointers from Mack and Sallie to cut its deficit to two points, 26-24, with 3:38 to go. Holding a 28-26 edge, Stewart knocked down a pair of foul shots and hit a three pointer as part of a 6-0 run to give UALR its largest lead of the half, 34-26, with 1:19 to play. The Tigers were able to score the final three points of the half, thanks in part to a putback by Niles-Henderson, to make it a 34-29 contest at the break.  The Tigers came out firing at the start of the second half, making four three pointers as part of an 18-4 run to take the lead for good. Memphis took its first lead of the night, 40-38, off a pair of foul shots by Williams 17:38 to go.

Memphis built its lead to 13 points, 64-51, after a three pointer by Mack at the 8:55 mark, but UALR managed to pull back within seven, 66-59, after a three-point play by junior Derrick Bails with 7:10 on the clock. Leading 68-61, the Tigers ripped off a quick 8-0 spurt to put the game out of reach. 
UALR returns to action Wednesday night at 8:05 p.m. when it travels to Mobile to square off against South Alabama in a game which will be televised ESPN2.