Nowell supplies spark off bench
With the Trojans clinging to a 37-36 lead with 11:01 remaining Saturday, Markquis Nowell took over.
Less than five minutes later, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock led by 16.
Nowell scored 11 points over an 18-4 run — beginning with a corner three-pointer in front of his own bench and ending with a crafty finish at the rim — as the Trojans beat Louisiana-Monroe 65-49 on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.
The junior guard scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half to provide a spark off the bench on a night UALR sorely needed one.
“I’m in a new position coming off the bench,” Nowell said. “I’m just trying to provide that energy for the team. I just want to get back to the winning spirits and the things that won us a [Sun Belt Conference] championship last year”
UALR (10-7, 6-4 Sun Belt) shot 20% from three-point range but scored 28 points in the paint to beat the Warhawks for a fourth consecutive time.
Junior forward Nikola Maric had a game-high 18 points and finished with 11 rebounds for UALR, and senior forward Ruot Monyyong registered his 11th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 boards.
Led by Josh Nicholas, who finished with 13 points, the Warhawks (4-13, 2-8) tested the Trojans for a second consecutive night and led as late as the 11:45 mark of the second half. Koreem Ozier scored 12 to go with six rebounds, but his free throw marked the only point Louisiana-Monroe scored over a 9:23 stretch in the second half when Nowell and UALR closed out the game.
“In the second half, our offense wore down because our defense wasn’t helping it,” Warhawks Coach Keith Richard said. “Credit them, they’re big and tall and they can throw that thing inside at any time to stop whatever they got going. We hung with them for a good part of the game.”
The teams traded blows in a first half in which neither held a lead of more than six, and a 10-2 Louisiana-Monroe surge featuring three-pointers from Ozier and Erie Olonade gave the Warhawks a 22-18 advantage with 7:31 left in the half.
After a three-pointer by Maric, Monyyong assisted on senior guard Ben Coupet Jr.’s three-pointer in between a pair of baskets to give the Trojans a 28-22 lead that the Warhawks trimmed to 29-26 at the half.
Monyyong and Maric combined for 18 points and 10 rebounds in the opening half, carrying the Trojans through an otherwise slow offensive start.
“When they’re both rebounding the basketball, when they’re both in double figures for rebounds, that’s really good for us,” UALR Coach Darrell Walker said. “… I felt they were great defensively, both of those guys. And offensively, they facilitated the ball. They were good.”
Monyyong’s foul-line jumper gave the Trojans the lead for good at 37-36, and he assisted on Nowell’s three-pointer that opened the 18-4 run.
Nowell’s 13 second-half points came on 4-of-7 shooting, and he added 4 rebounds and 5 assists in the half.
“He pushed the tempo of the game,” Walker said. “He got into the paint and was able to get to the line. He also got into the paint and was able to kick to his teammates for some easy baskets. When he comes into the game, he puts pressure on the defense and that’s what he did when he came in.”
TEXAS-ARLINGTON 65, ARKANSAS STATE 64
Shahada Wells hit a jumper with one second left to give Texas-Arlington (95, 5-5) a victory over Arkansas State University (6-9, 3-5) on Saturday and split the weekend series at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
Norchad Omier’s layup gave the Red Wolves a 62-59 lead with 1:20 remaining, but two free throws from Sam Griffin cut the lead to 62-61 with 26 seconds left. Keyon Wesley added two free throws three seconds later to push ASU’s lead to 64-61. Wells hit a jumper with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to 64-63 before hitting the game winner.
The Red Wolves were outrebounded 37-34, but outscored the Mavericks 30-26 in the lane. ASU shot 41.5% from the floor, outscored Texas-Arlington 15-5 in fast break points and 14-12 off the bench.
Omier led the Red Wolves with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Marquis Eaton also had 14 points for ASU. Wesley had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Christian Willis added 10 points.
Griffin led the Mavericks with 23 points. Wells finished with 21 points.