Box Score

FORT SMITH, Ark. – The St. Edward's men's basketball team could not overcome a poor-shooting night as they connected on only 34 percent of its shots in a 67-54 loss to UA Fort Smith, Thursday evening at Stubblefield Arena.
 
St. Edward's (4-4, 0-1 HC) jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the first two minutes of the game. CHRIS WACKER had his hand in every basket as he made a jumper and assisted on buckets by ZILIJAN JONES and JEFF CAMPBELL for the three-point lead with 17:55 on the clock.
 
UA Fort Smith (3-2, 1-0 HC) came back with a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to take the lead, 13-9. Bo Franklin finished off the run with a dunk, with 12:48 remaining in the first half.
 
TYLER FOSTER came off of the bench to spark the Hilltoppers with five points to lead the visitors on a 9-4 run during the next four minutes. Two free throws by QUINTON LILLEY and a layup by JAMES STUKES pushed the St. Edward's lead to 24-20 with 5:50 remaining.
 
The Lions would outscore the Hilltoppers the rest of the way in the first half, 19-3 to take a 39-27 lead into the break.
 
In the second half, St. Edward's would hang with the Lions early as SHIMEEK JOHNSON hit a three pointer at the 18:08 mark to bring the Hilltoppers within 11 points. From there, UA Fort Smith controlled the game, expanding its lead to 19 points, by scoring the game's next seven points. That gave the home team a 51-32 lead with 14:23 left in the contest.
 
The Hilltoppers would chip away at the lead and reduce it to just seven points with 6:30 remaining. However, the Lions kept St. Edward's at bay with some clutch shooting.
 
Poor shooting was the downfall for St. Edward's as they shot just 43 percent (10-28) from the free-throw line and 4-of-23 from behind the arc.
 
St. Edward's will continue its Heartland Conference opening road trip with a matchup versus Newman on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Fugate Gymnasium.