Late Run Lifts Troy over UALR, 67-64

Courtesy UALR Athletics Department

TROY, Ala. – Freshman Kemy Osse’s game-tying three-point attempt at the end of regulation landed slightly off the mark, as UALR (9-8, 3-3 SBC) stayed winless on the road this season with a 67-64 loss at Troy (6-10, 1-4 SBC) Saturday night at the new Trojan Arena. The Trojans failed to pull out the win for the first time this season when holding their opponent under 70 points.

UALR led by one at halftime and went up as many as ten in the second half Saturday night, but a 13-to-2 run by Troy midway through the second half erased the Trojans’ advantage and gave Troy a one-point lead with 7:39 left on the clock. A free throw by junior Will Neighbour tied the game at 56-all at the 4:30 mark, but Troy answered with a three pointer by R.J. Scott and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. Freshman Josh Hagins pulled the Trojans within one on a pull-up jumper with 49 ticks remaining, but after Troy retained possession on a jump ball on the other end, Scott nailed both free throws to get the home team’s lead back to three with 16.9 seconds left. UALR called a timeout, but couldn’t convert as Osse’s jumper from straightaway went off the back of the rim.

Hagins and Neighbour led UALR with 14 points each, and junior Leroy Isler scored 13 points to give UALR three players in double figures. Hagins added four assists and four steals while getting his second-straight start and playing a career-high 33 minutes. Neighbour finished with a team-high five rebounds. Osse chipped in nine points, all on three pointers, to lead UALR in scoring off the bench.

As a team, UALR finished the night shooting 48.1 percent from the floor (25-of-52) and 52.3 percent from three-point range (8-of-15), but Troy outrebounded UALR 33-to-28 and held a 40-to-15 lead in bench scoring. The home team also knocked down 15-of-18 free throws, while UAL R struggled to a 6-of-14 effort from the foul line.

Troy finished the night shooting 46.8 percent from the floor (22-of-47) and ended the game with 15 assists on 22 made field goals. Emil Jones scored 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 effort at the foul line. Ray Chambers chipped in nine points for Troy and Westley Hinton scored ten points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Playing in their new arena, Troy raced out to an 8-2 lead to start the game before UALR answered with 12-straight points to go up 14-8 on a lay-in by Isler just under seven minutes into the contest. Troy pulled back within one on an old-fashioned three-point play by Antoine Myers (9:13) and regained the lead on a bucket by Myers just over a minute later. Troy got up by as many as four before a trey from the corner by Isler was followed by an Osse triple to put UALR up two with 5:00 left in the half. Troy tied the game at 29-all on a bucket by Chambers with 1:31 on the clock, but Neighbour answered with a three pointer to put UALR up three. Jones hit a jumper for Troy as the halftime buzzer sounded to make it a one-point game, 32-31, at intermission.

UALR returns to action with a pair of games at the Jack Stephens Center next week against North Texas (Thurs., Jan 10) and FIU (Sat., Jan 12). Saturday’s game against the Golden Panthers will aired on Comcast Sports Southeast and Cox Sports Television as part of the Sun Belt Network’s television package.