Forge and Sims Lead Boll Weevils to Win Over SNU

Courtesy UAM Athletics Department

MONTICELLO — The University of Arkansas at Monticello men’s basketball team forced 27 turnovers and shot 47 percent from the field in a 72-56 win over Southern Nazarene on Thursday at home in Great American Conference action.

Senior guard Kori Forge and junior forward Brandon Sims led the way for the Boll Weevils (8-5, 3-4 GAC). Forge poured in 33 points on a 13-of-21 shooting performance, including a 7-of-11 outing from three-point range. Forge also added five rebounds, three assists and six steals to his final totals. Sims chipped in with a career-high 16 points and making 4-of-8 field goal attempts and a perfect 7-of-7 foul shots.

The Boll Weevils used a fast start to gain a big lead over the Crimson Storm (7-6, 2-5 GAC). UAM ran out to a 13-0 lead throughout the first six minutes of the contest before SNU reached the scoreboard on a layup from Brady Buford at the 14:23 mark.

UAM continued its first half dominance, growing its lead to 23 points at 28-5 at the 9:46 mark, and later grabbed a 25-point lead at the 6:21 mark on a tip-in from senior A.J. Calhoun to cap a 7-0 scoring run. SNU used its own 7-0 scoring run to close out the first half to give UAM a 16-point lead at the break.

UAM maintained its double-digit lead throughout the second half despite a pair of rallies from the Crimson Storm. SNU’s Brady Buford scored six consecutive points in the first four minutes of the second half to trim UAM’s lead to 13 points at the 16:15 mark. In the final three minutes down by 18 points, SNU forced back-to-back turnovers in a full-court press defense that aided to a 6-0 run, trimming UAM’s lead to 12 points with 1:40 left in regulation.

The Boll Weevils closed out the contest outscoring SNU 6-2 to wrap up the 16-point win, including four made free-throws from Brandon Sims. Thursday’s win over SNU was UAM’s largest margin of victory since its 97-29 win over Crowley’s Ridge on November 17.

As a team, UAM shot 47 percent from the field (28-of-60), 56 percent on three-pointers (9-of-16) and 78 percent on foul shots (7-of-9). SNU shot 46 percent from the field (23-of-50), seven percent on three-pointers (1-of-14) and 60 percent on foul shots (9-of-15).

Brady Buford led SNU with 22 points at seven rebounds, followed by Aaron Ryan with 17 points.

The Boll Weevils are off this weekend and return to action next Thursday, January 17 at home against defending GAC champion Arkansas Tech. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Steelman Fieldhouse.