Strong second half sends Cornhuskers past UAFS Lions

Editor’s note: Story by Jonathan Gipson, sports information director for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
 
LINCOLN, Neb. – University of Arkansas at Fort Smith men’s basketball coach Josh Newman had a few simple words for his Lions as they finished up their shoot-around prior to Friday night’s exhibition game against NCAA Division I Nebraska.

The fourth-year Lions coach just challenged his players to continue to play hard and keep their up their defensive intensity just like they had against the Saint Louis University Billikens only a week earlier.

Apparently, the Lions were listening.

UAFS only trailed Nebraska by four points at halftime and stayed within striking distance of the Cornhuskers until midway through the second half before falling 86-66 to the Big 12 team in their exhibition opener at the Devaney Center.

“Again, I am very proud of these guys,” Newman said. “This is not an easy challenge, and they responded the right way.”

It was the last of two exhibition games against NCAA Division I foes for the Lions, who lost 79-51 at Saint Louis University on Oct. 20. UA FS will play four more Division I opponents as part of its regular-season schedule in the prestigious Legends Classic later this month.

The Lions will play at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., on Nov. 21; and will play Troy University on Nov. 27, Georgia Southern University on Nov. 28 and Valparaiso University on Nov. 29 at Statesboro, Ga.

“I think everyone back home should be proud of this group,” Newman said. “It’s going to be an exciting year for us. I don’t know how good we are going to be, but as of right now, it looks like we have a chance to be a pretty good ballclub.”

It also was the Lions’ first-ever game against their former coach. Nebraska coach Doc Sadler served as an assistant coach twice at UA Fort Smith (formerly Westark College) under former Lions coach Bobby Vint (1988-91) and former coach Charles Ripley (1997-98) and was Lions head coach and athletic director for five seasons (1998-2003).

Likewise, it was the first time Sadler and Lions coach Josh Newman matched wits as head coaches during their long relationship. Newman was a student manager at Arizona State University when Sadler was an assistant coach for then Sun Devils coach Bill Frieder and later was an assistant coach for Sadler for one season (1998-99) at UA Fort Smith.
UAFS held Nebraska to just 39% shooting (11 of 28) in the first half and hit at a sizzling 52% clip (15 of 29) from the field. The Lions led by as many as four points with just under nine minutes left in the first half and went into the locker room at halftime only down 43-39.

Much like against Saint Louis, the Lions’ thin bench became a factor in the second half. Already whittled to only 10 players because of the injury to junior Jason Jackson of Dallas, Texas, against Saint Louis, the Lions’ bench dwindled to nine players at halftime after freshman Grant Clark of Houston, Texas, fouled out with 1:25 left in the half.
Clark had a career performance in barely a half of play, scoring a team-high 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Clark led four Lions in double-figures.”

The Lions, who had five players with two or more fouls in the first half, then lost junior Chris Williams of Lebanon, Ill., with 13:16 left in the second half and played the remainder of the game with only eight players.

Nebraska found its shooting touch in the final 20 minutes, hitting 55% (16 of 29) from the field, and turned up its defense, holding the Lions to just 36% shooting (10 of 28). The Cornhuskers, who overmatched the Lions physically in the paint, took a 20 point lead with four minutes left.

Ryan Anderson led three Cornhuskers in double-figures with 18 points, while Brian Diaz had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Cornhuskers out-rebounded the Lions 48-26, accounting for 17 second-chance points.

Nebraska also hit 73% (30 of 41) from the free-throw line, and while UAFS didn’t have that many opportunities at the line (21 attempts),  the Lions sank only 38% (8 of 21).