UALR’s defense paving the way

A glance at the Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball standings reveals a logjam.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is included in an eight-team tie for third place two weeks and four games into the league’s young regular season.

There is plenty of time left until the regular season ends in early March and the tie is inevitably unlocked once contenders separate themselves.

Will UALR be among the contenders? That is unclear.

After a 2-2 Sun Belt start, there is hope for the Trojans — who were picked to finish last by the league’s coaches and select media members in the preseason. For now, while they are still in the mix, the Trojans are watching the standings take shape.

“You’ve got to,” said redshirt junior guard Deondre Burns. “We’re trying to win. I’m always thinking about the standings.”

UALR secured a 73-59 victory Thursday against Troy at the Jack Stephens Center. It completed a two-game homestand by rolling through South Alabama 91-62 on Saturday.

The Trojans (7-10, 2-2 Sun Belt) held Troy and South Alabama to a combined 39.2 percent from the field.

Troy — which committed 23 turnovers, the most UALR has forced in a game this season — shot 4 for 20 from the three-point line. South Alabama had 19 turnovers and went 7 of 24 on three-pointers.

UALR scored 26 points off Troy’s turnovers and 27 points via South Alabama’s mistakes. The Trojans’ defense was the week’s difference-maker.

“I’m really proud of this team [in] the way that they really defended,” UALR Coach Darrell Walker said. “It’s unbelievable the way that we defended the last two games.

“And like I told them in the locker room, defense can travel. Your offense can stay home. But you can still defend the same way at home as you can do on the road. Hopefully we’re going to do that when we head on the road next week.”

UALR’s men will embark on a two-game road swing at Texas State on Thursday and at Texas-Arlington on Saturday.

The Trojans are 1-7 on the road this season, including 0-2 in the Sun Belt.

Texas State (14-3, 3-1) lost its only league matchup to Sun Belt preseason favorite Georgia State (13-4, 4-0) 73-69 on Jan. 5 in San Marcos, Texas.

After four games, Texas State is No. 1 in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 61.8 points per game. UT-Arlington (6-11, 2-2) is fourth at 70.6 points allowed per game.

“At the end of the day, I’ve got to get ready for this Texas trip and I’m concerned,” Walker said. “We’ve got to take this defensive effort and take it on the road.”

UALR WOMEN

Among the loudest roars inside the Jack Stephens Center during UALR’s men’s game Saturday, one was for the UALR women’s team.

When the Trojans’ 65-42 final at South Alabama was announced through the arena’s public address system, the crowd was ecstatic.

UALR’s women split a two-game road trip last week at Troy (71-66) and South Alabama. The Trojans return to Little Rock for home games Thursday and Saturday against Texas State and Texas-Arlington, respectively.

Junior guard Kyra Collier posted her fourth 20-point performance of the season when she scored 20 points Saturday at South Alabama.

UALR held South Alabama to 14 of 40 shooting (35 percent) from the field and forced the Jaguars into 26 turnovers.