Men's Basketball 1/12/2013 5:31:00 PM

Dustdevils Drop Hard Fought Game To Arkansas Fort Smith

Box Score FORT SMITH, Arkansas (January 12) – The TAMIU men’s basketball team led preseason top ranked University of Arkansas Fort Smith by as many as 15 points in the second half, but couldn’t withstand a late surge by the Lions as the Dustdevils dropped their third conference game of the season 87-82 Saturday afternoon at the Stubblefield Center.

“I was proud that the guys hung tough with such a talented team,” said Head Coach Bryan Weakley. “However, it’s inexcusable that we gave up 41 points in the final 12 minutes of the game. We have really struggled to play a full 40-minute game, especially when we have to overcome adversity. Hopefully our guys will realize soon that in this league, we can’t afford to take possessions off.”

Matthew Culliver and Johnel Gray led the Dustdevils scoring 20 points apiece, a season high for Gray, followed by Jordan Clark with 16 and Kevin Jefferson Jr. with 12. Arkansas Fort Smith was paced by senior Djordje Stojanovic who finished with a game-high 21 points connecting on 6-8 shots from the field including 3-3 from three-point range. Four additional Lion players scored in double figures including Blake Brenham with 15 and Jake Toupal with 14.

The Dustdevils and the Lions finished with nearly identical shooting percentages from the field with TAMIU shooting 54.1 percent and the Lions shooting 54.7. Arkansas Fort Smith’s major advantage came at the free throw line where they knocked down 19-30 attempts, while the Dustdevils finished 8-11.

The Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the game, but TAMIU rallied to tie the game at 8 on a three-ball from Culliver. The Dustdevils then added six straight points as part of a 9-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. With TAMIU leading 17-11, the Lions answered with a 9-0 run of their own capped by a Jake Toupal three-point play to give UAFS a 20-17 edge. The Lions pushed their lead out to six points before Jordan Clark scored seven unanswered points to put TAMIU back on top 28-27. Trailing by three as time ticked down in the opening half, Johnel Gray knocked down a wide-open three from the wing to send the game into the break tied at 39.

Culliver and Gray helped the Dustdevils open the second half on an 8-0 run giving TAMIU a 47-39 advantage. After a UAFS free throw, Culliver connected on another three which kick started an 8-1 TAMIU run to give the Dustdevils their largest lead of the game at 61-46. Blake Brenham had the answer for the Lions getting a bucket plus the foul to get Arkansas Fort Smith going. Trailing by nine, Stojanovic hit back-to-back threes and Toupal followed with another as part of a 16-3 UAFS run to pull the Lions within two. Corey Copeland tied the game at 67 with a three at the 5:27 mark, before hitting a free throw seconds later to give UAFS a 68-67 lead.

The Lions extended their lead to six points with just over a minute to play, but Culliver and Jefferson Jr. led a 5-1 TAMIU run to bring the Dustdevils within two points with 28 seconds remaining. Stojanovic made 1-2 free throws to give the Lions a three-point cushion with 24 seconds remaining, but Gray answered with a quick lay in to make it a one-point game. With TAMIU forced to foul, Xavier McClish hit both free throw attempts pushing the lead back out to 85-82 with only seven seconds to play. Culliver got a good look at a game-tying shot with two seconds left on the clock, but the shot was off the mark. Djordje Stojanovic hit two free throws with just under two seconds remaining to ice the game for the Lions 87-82.

The loss drops the Dustdevils conference record to 2-3 on the season, 7-6 overall, while Arkansas Fort Smith improves to 4-0 in conference and 8-6 overall. The Dustdevils will be back on the court in Laredo on Thursday, January 17 hosting provisional Heartland Conference member McMurry University. The result of the game versus the War Hawks will not affect the Dustdevils conference record. Tip off for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the TAMIU KCB.

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