Trojans stay in control at home
In its last three games, the University of Arkansas-Little Rock entered halftime down at least 16 points.
Coach Darrell Walker and his Trojans, losers of four straight entering Monday night, recognized that’s not much of a winning formula. But UALR had won twice in as many home games this season.
In their return to Little Rock, the Trojans made it three for three, routing crosstown-foe Philander Smith 8354 at the Jack Stephens Center. Five different Trojans reached double figures, led by 17 points from Jordan Jefferson and 16 apiece for D.J. Smith and Ethan Speaker.
“We’d win the second [half], but it’s too late because we’re down 15-20 points at the time,” Walker said of losses at Miami (Ohio), San Francisco and Memphis. “It wasn’t easy, those money games — unfortunately, you have to play some of those. But now we’re at home, and I just told my team, ‘I don’t care who we play, we cannot lose at home ever.’ ”
What Walker wanted to see from his team, especially early, was defense. In five of UALR’s seven losses, the Trojans’ opponents have scored 40-plus points before halftime, and in the other two, their foes posted 37 and 39.
It was almost certainly going to be an easier task against the NAIA Panthers, but at the same time, UALR (3-7) wasn’t taking things for granted against a team that they trailed with under eight minutes to play a year ago.
Philander Smith (9-1) never got anything going, shooting 7-of-27 from the field in the first half with nine turnovers. And though it was initially a slow burn, with the Trojans gradually stretching their lead to double digits over the first eight minutes, UALR all but put things away before the break with a 16-2 outburst in 3:41, carrying a 41-20 advantage into halftime.
“We learned [the last few weeks] that we can’t come out sluggish,” forward Myron Gardner said. “We’ve got to defend and we’ve got to rebound. … Coach kept telling us to stay in front of our man.”
Walker, never unafraid to nit-pick with his team, again emphasized the Trojans’ youth — UALR ranks 311th of 363 teams, per KenPom.com, in Division I experience.
But on a night when the Trojans’ 61-year-old head coach recorded his 100th career victory, there were enough positives for Walker to remark on as well. The Trojans outrebounded the Panthers 44-26 and switched effectively enough to limit Philander Smith to 18-of-52 shooting.
DeAntoni Gordon (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Myron Gardner (10 points, 11 rebounds) each logged double-doubles, and Speaker was a rebound shy of joining them.
But at 3-7, UALR needs more than positives. With conference play on the horizon, the Trojans need wins.
It’s a matter of carrying the good vibes from Monday forward, especially with two more games away from Little Rock before UALR opens its inaugural Ohio Valley Conference slate.
“We practice so much better than we play sometimes, and that’s disappointing as a coach,” Walker said. “I’ve got to figure out how to bring … the way we play offensively and defensively to game night when the popcorn is on.”