Loper Men Fall at #25 UAFS, 83-70

 The 25th-ranked Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions had six double-figure scorers and made 24 free throws to down Nebraska Kearney, 83-70, Thursday night in the Natural State.

The Lopers (10-14, 3-10) drop their first-ever visit to UAFS (17-4, 8-4) and are now 2-7 on the road. The Lions, with nine D1 transfers on the roster, won their first 13 games this year and improved to 8-1 at home.
Fort Smith jetted out to a 17-2 lead by the 14-minute mark, but UNK more than fought back, getting a layup from Texas redshirt senior point guard Ja’Bryant Hill to make it just a 24-23 deficit. However, the Lions scored the next seven points and pretty much kept their lead at 11 or 12 the rest of the night.
“Obviously, they are a good team, and you have to be playing good basketball to come in a place like this and get a W,” said UNK head coach Marty Levinson on the KRVN Radio post-game show. “They threw the first punches, we kind of fought our way back into it but never could really take control of the game.”
Six-three senior guard Brandon Scott, formerly of Western Carolina, went for a team-best 16 points thanks to three triples and 5 of 5 free throw shooting. UAFS was a solid 24 of 29 at the line with UNK having its busiest night of the year at the stripe at 29 of 33.
Also for Fort Smith, Virginia Commonwealth transfer Jarren McAlister went for 14 points in 21 minutes with North Texas/Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Christian Moore at 12 points, eight boards, three steals and two assists. UAFS out shot UNK by nine points, was out rebounded by five but took advantage of 16 turnovers.
“It was a physical game, and they really climbed into us. We didn’t do a great job of taking care of (the basketball) and getting to the elbows, getting to the rim,” said Levinson. “They kind of had us going sideways early but we finally settled in.”
For UNK, St. Louis senior wing Kendrick Gilbert and Hill both went for 17 points, both hitting five field goals along the way. Next, Las Vegas redshirt junior forward Anthony Swift had 12 points and nine rebounds with Missouri freshman reserve Zeek Brown providing six points and three boards.
“We’ve got to put together every aspect of the game. When we do okay on the glass, we don’t shoot well. When we shoot well, we don’t do good on the glass,” said Levinson.
The Lopers head to Tahlequah, Okla., to face Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon. The RiverHawks (12-9, 5-7) survived a last second shot to beat Fort Hays State tonight, 66-64.