Baylor
Arkansas-Little Rock
Basketball Edges UALR 54-51
12/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2000
WACO, Texas - Matt Sayman forced a turnover with 7.3 seconds remaining and Greg Davis hit one of two free throws two seconds later to give Baylor a 54-51 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock here Saturday. With the victory, Baylor improves to 3-0 on the season. Arkansas-Little Rock falls to 4-1.
The Trojans had one final chance at victory, but an Alan Barksdale turnaround 3-point attempt at the buzzer was no good off the front of the rim.
DeMarcus Minor made a 10-foot jump shot on the right baseline with 35 seconds remaining to break a 51-51 tie. On Arkansas-Little Rock's ensuing possession, Barksdale was not able to control a pass. Sayman tied the ball up, forcing a jump ball with the possession arrow in the Bears favor.
"There are a lot of Duke-Illinois games out there, but I thought that was a great college basketball game," Baylor head coach Dave Bliss said. "Little Rock really gave us a handful, and we were fortunate to walk out of there with a victory."
Wendell Greenleaf came off the bench for Baylor to lead all scorers with a career-high 19 points, 12 of which came from 3-point land. Minor added 11 points and dished out a team-high four assists for the Bears, who shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the field.
Terry Black, who entered the contest averaging a conference-best 23.5 points per game, was held to just six points on the day, however, the Big 12 leader in rebounds still pulled down a game-high 10 boards, including five on the offensive end, and snagged a pair of steals.
The Trojans, meanwhile, were held to 39.6 percent shooting, 33.3 percent in the second half, and were led in the scoring column by Mark Green's 17. Barksdale came off the bench for 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
Both teams suffered extended scoring droughts, Baylor went six minutes without a point in the first half, and the Trojans did not get their first point of the second half until seven minutes into the half.
Trailing 13-9 with 12:51 left in the first half, the Bears did not get another point until Greenleaf drained a 3-pointer with 6:56 to play. On the shot, Lavern Smith fouled Greenleaf, sending the Houston, Texas, native to the line where he completed the four-point play.
That sparked a 14-4 Baylor run that closed the UALR gap to 24-23 with just under three minutes before the half. However, the Trojans responded, scoring nine of the final 11 points in the first to take a 33-25 lead into the lockerroom.
But the first 13 minutes of the second half belonged to the Green and Gold. The Bears outscored Little Rock 15-4 during that stretch and took a 40-37 lead, their first of the game, when Sayman drained all three free throw attempts with 7:14 to play. Baylor had knotted the score one minute earlier thanks to a Greenleaf 3-pointer.
From there, Baylor opened a six-point lead at 43-37. UALR battled back to tighten the game over the final five minutes of play, but the Trojans were never able to recapture the lead they had enjoyed for the first 33 minutes of play.
Baylor will return to action Dec. 9, hosting St. Edwards at 7 p.m. Arkansas-Little Rock will return to action Tuesday at 7:35 p.m., hosting Alcorn State.
