UALR Sneaks Out Overtime Victory in Battle for SBC West Lead

Box Score

The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team missed five free throws in the final three minutes of regulation and it left the door open for UALR to send Thursday's contest at the Cajundome into overtime where the Sun Belt West leading Trojans claimed a 72-70 victory.

The last two misses came with Elfrid Payton at the line with 19 seconds remaining and the Cajuns (14-12, 8-4 Sun Belt) leading 63-59 with a chance to extend the lead to six points. Will Neighbour drained a three-pointer with 10 seconds on the clock to trim the Trojans' deficit to 63-62.

Bryant Mbamalu made two free throws one second later for a 65-62 lead, but because of previous misses at the charity stripe the opportunity for UALR (12-13, 9-2 Sun Belt) to forge a tie remained. Chuck Guy rolled around a screen and dropped in a triple with 0.8 seconds showing to send the contest into overtime.

A De'Andre Williams basket at 4:42 of the extra session gave UALR a lead they would not relinquish on the way to increasing their SBC West lead over UL to 1-1/2 games.

The Cajuns trailed 71-70 after a Kadeem Coleby dunk with 1:27 remaining in overtime, but came up empty on their final three possessions. After a Payton turnover inside of 15 seconds, Guy made a freebie to put UALR up 72-70. J.J. Thomas' three-point attempt in the waning seconds came up just short and the Trojans escaped.

UALR broke UL's 15-game winning streak against SBC West foes at the Cajundome – a streak that dated back to the 2009 season. Ironically, UALR was the last SBC West team to win in the Cajundome and it came in overtime on Jan. 15, 2009.

Coleby led the Cajuns with 18 points and Thomas added 13. UL played without Darshawn McClellan (9.1 points per game, 27.2 minutes per game) who missed the game with an illness.

The Trojans were paced by a game-high 24 points from Williams. He was one of four UALR players to register double figures.

Louisiana wraps up the current two-game homestand on Saturday hosting Arkansas State. The Cajuns seek to avenge a 79-74 loss suffered back on Jan. 21 in Jonesboro, Ark.

UALR carried a 16-4 lead into the first media timeout on the strength of starting the game 7-of-9 from the field which was a stark contrast to the 25 percent they shot in Little Rock on Jan. 19.

The Cajuns used a pair of six-point spurts to lower the Trojans lead to two points by the nine-minute mark.

The first spurt came on three straight possessions out of the media timeout. It began with a Thomas freebie at 14:10, Thomas triple at 13:44 and Josh Brown leaner on the baseline at 13:09 and the Cajuns trailed 16-10.

Thomas triggered the second spurt at 12:26 with two free throws and Kentwan Smith scored a basket in the paint at 9:22 to make it 18-16. Williams answered with a leaner in the right wing to increase UALR's edge to 20-16 at 8:59.

UL completed the climb out of the early deficit when Thompson buried a trey at 4:49 to forge a 22-all tie.

UALR answered with a Courtney Jackson stuff at 4:11 to reclaim the lead for a brief moment. At the 3:42 mark Coleby registered a basket to draw the Cajuns into a 24-all tie.

The Cajuns grabbed the halftime lead when Thomas connected on a triple at 2:26 for a 27-24 lead. Louisiana was able to hold on to the lead UALR was limited to one field goal attempt and missed two free throws in the final minutes of the opening stanza.

The Cajuns defense limited the Trojans to 3-of-18 shooting in the final 14:40 to climb out of the early deficit. UL, which opened the game 2-of-8 in the first five minutes, ended the first half 9-of-18 (50 percent).

A slow start in the second half cost the Cajuns their lead. UL opened 1-of-7 from the floor. The Trojans rolled of an 8-0 run capped off by a pair of Guy freebies at 18:05 for a 34-31 lead.

A pair of Williams free throws following a Bob Marlin technical foul came at 17:18 then after a UL turnover Michael Javes hit a hook shot at 16:43 to extend the run to 12-0 and stretch the UALR advantage to 38-31.

A Coleby stuff following a Jackson turnover came at 13:10 and drew the Cajuns within one point, 42-41. A Williams steal led to made baskets on back-to-back possessions for the Trojans which extended the lead to 46-41 with 11:45 remaining.

Smith registered a layup at 9:04 to bring the Cajuns back within one point at 48-47. His three-point play at 7:43 pulled the Cajuns into a 50-48 lead and they would hold on to the lead until Guy's triple with 0.8 seconds left in regulation.

UALR Sneaks Out Overtime Victory in Battle for SBC West Lead

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