Hagins pitches in at perfect time

SUN BELT MEN

UALR 73, MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY 68

Junior guard Josh Hagins struggled to make shots and get involved in the offense for most of Saturday afternoon’s game, just as he had in UALR’s first two games this season.

But for a 4½-minute span in the second half, Hagins teamed with James White to spark the key run that allowed UALR to snag the lead from Missouri-Kansas City as the Trojans surged to a 73-68 victory in front of an announced crowd of 647 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

“It’s a long game,” Hagins said. “We just have to stick with what we’re doing, and eventually we just find a way to get over the hump.”

Hagins and White scored all the points in a 17-6 game-turning run at the midway point of the second half, which sent UALR into a 1 p.m. game today against Cal State-Northridge in its final game of the Maui Invitational Regional.

Hagins’ two free throws pulled UALR to within 49-41 with 11:43 left, and the run ended with Hagins’ basket that put UALR ahead 58-55 with 7:14 left.

Hagins entered Saturday’s game against the Kangaroos (1-2) — who beat Missouri and led for most of a loss at Kansas State — shooting 25 percent from the floor in UALR’s first two games. All 11 of his points Saturday came during the decisive stretch, and he was 3 of 5 shooting before fouling out.

White contributed, too. The 6-8 junior forward scored the other six points in the run, all off two-handed dunks, and added six points in the final five minutes. He finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.

“That’s just a credit to my teammates, the way they kept their composure against the press,” White said.

UALR’s ability to handle Missouri-Kansas City’s pressure put it in position to make its run in the second half. The Trojans committed 21 turnovers Saturday, but 16 came in the first half.

The Kangaroos, coached by former Rick Pitino assistant Kareem Richardson, pressured UALR the entire 40 minutes. Hagins and Dillard had four turnovers each, while Maurius Hill and J.T. Thomas had three each.

“They’re a very active team defensively,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “We knew those guys were going to play as hard as they did and get their hands on balls. They’ve done it in all three games.”

UALR didn’t know how to handle it in the first half. The Trojans had eight turnovers in the first nine minutes and trailed 16-13. Missouri-Kansas City stretched its lead to 25-15 with 7:59 left in the half. But UALR got within 34-30 at halftime, and after falling behind 40-30 to start the second half it clawed its way back to within 46-41 before Hagins and White started the run.

UALR’s ability to create turnovers helped the Trojans just as much in turning the game.

Hagins’ free throws with 11:43 left made it 49-43, then Maurius Hill grabbed a rebound on the other end that led to Hagins’ three-pointer to get to within 49-46. UALR came up with another stop on the other end, and White rebounded a missed three by Dillard with a dunk to pull UALR to within 49-48.

DeVonte Smith then came up with a steal at midcourt, and Hagins gave UALR a 50-49 lead with a breakaway dunk. The Trojans didn’t trail again. CAL STATE-NORTHRIDGE 79, SAMFORD 72

Stephen Maxwell scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to help Cal State-Northridge defeat Samford on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.

The victory moved the Matadors into a 1 p.m. game against UALR today in the final game of the Maui Invitational Regional. Samford will play Missouri-Kansas City at 3:30 p.m.

Maxwell made 5 of 8 shots from the floor and was 5 of 5 from the free-throw line in the first half, helping the Matadors (2-2) to a 37-31 halftime lead. Stephan Hicks added 12 first-half points and finished with 22 points.

Tyler Hood led Samford (1-3) with 19 points on 5 of 7 three-point shooting.

SOUTHLAND MEN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 74, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 68

Central Arkansas (0-4) cut a 12-point second-half deficit to three points twice in the final 1:30, but Southeast Missouri held on in the Bears’ home opener at the Farris Center in Conway.

Junior guard Mike Martin drove the lane for a jumper with 1:25 remaining as UCA cut the lead to 70-67. Antonius Cleveland made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line for the Redhawks before Jake Zuilhof did the same for the Bears with 1:01 to play.

SEMO’s Nino Johnson, who tied for the team lead with 20 points, also made 1 of 2 for a 72-68 lead with 30 seconds to play. UCA’s ensuing possession ended in a turnover, but SEMO missed twice at the line and junior forward Joel Fiegler cleared the rebound for the Bears with 15 seconds remaining.

UCA freshman guard Jordan Howard, who had a team-high 21 points and was 5 of 7 from three-point range, misfired on a three shots and was forced to foul. SEMO’s Jarekious Bradley connected on both free throws for the final margin.

Martin scored 13 points for the Bears, while Zuilhof had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots and Unruh scored

11 points.

Johnson and Bradley led the Redhawks with 20 points each.

SUN BELT WOMEN

UALR 55, RICE 40

UALR rode its defense to its third consecutive victory as the Trojans improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1982.

Taylor Gault came off the bench to score 11 points and Kiera Clark added 10, but the Trojans were held to 32.3 percent shooting by the host Owls (1-2), who shot just 28.3 percent from the field and didn’t have a player score more than six points.

Rice led 11-6 halfway through the first half, but UALR scored the next seven points to go up 13-11. Rice led 21-18 at halftime before UALR started the second half on a 15-2 run over the first seven minutes, capped by Clark’s jumper that gave it a 33-23 lead.

The Trojans extended their lead to as much as 53-30 with 2:27 left. COLORADO 80, ARKANSAS STATE 69

Aundrea Gamble tied a career-high with 30 points, but four Colorado players scored at least 10 points each as the Buffaloes (2-1) defeated Arkansas State (1-2) at the Coors Event Center in the final game of the Preseason WNIT in Boulder, Colo.

Gamble combined with Amanda Lawson and Jasmine Hunt to score all 35 of ASU’s points in the second half, but the Buffaloes came up with key defensive stops at crucial moments. Hunt and Lawson had 15 points each.

Colorado never trailed in the final 20 minutes, but ASU pushed the Buffaloes to the brink on several trips down the floor. ASU managed to cut the deficit 74-66 with 3:45 to play but couldn’t get any closer.

SOUTHLAND WOMEN CENTRAL ARKANSAS 56, JACKSON STATE 45

Maggie Profitt scored 15 points as Central Arkansas (2-1) led from start to finish as the Sugar Bears defeated Jackson State (0-3) in its final game in the Preseason WNIT in Macon, Ga.

The Sugar Bears jumped out to an early lead and went ahead by 10 with just under 5 minutes to play in the half. The Tigers (0-3) trimmed the deficit to single digits twice as the Sugar Bears’ built their lead to as much as 20 in the second half.

Leading 28-20 late in the first half, the Sugar Bears went on a 15-3 run over the next 10:30 to build a 43-23 lead and cruised to their first victory of the season after losing 93-57 at Western Kentucky and 56-55 against Eastern Kentucky.

UCA shot just 34.6 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range but clamped down defensively on Jackson State, holding the Tigers to 30.9 percent shooting and 28.6 percent from beyond the three-point line. The Sugar Bears were also perfect from the freethrow line, making 15 of 15.

Kendara Watts had 11 points for UCA.

SWAC WOMEN TALLADEGA COLLEGE 70, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 66

Tajanee Wells scored a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Talladega College (5-3) past UAPB (1-3) in a nonconference game at the H.O. Clemmons Center in Pine Bluff.

Shakeena Benton added 16 points for Talladega, and Thomesha Smith had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

UAPB was led by Jazmyne Victorian, who had 13 points and 18 rebounds. Cassidy Wright add 11 points for UAPB, which led 38-33 going into halftime, and Ajia Richardson finished with 10 points.