UA Fort Smith Athletics

First-year UAFS men's basketball coach Justin Bailey drew a loud round of applause from the hometown Lions fans during the pregame introductions for Tuesday night's home opener against the Hendrix Warriors.

The former Northside High School and UAFS standout and his young team then treated their fans to an easy 90-59 win against the Warriors at the Stubblefield Center.

It was the second win in a row for the Lions (2-1), who were coming off a 64-63 win against Midwestern State on Saturday in the final game of the Nissan of Wichita Falls Conference Challenge at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Five players scored in double-figures for the Lions, who led 51-28 at halftime. Senior guard Chris Crawford and freshman forward David Ward each scored  team-high 15 points, junior guard Tyler Williams had 14, freshman guard Matiss Sivins had 11 and freshman forward David Ekezie had 10.

UAFS shot 53 percent from the field (31 of 59) – it was 7-of-24 from 3-point range – and shot 88 percent from the free-throw line (21 of 24).

The Lions dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the NCAA Division III Warriors by 19 rebounds (49-30). Ward and junior forward Matt Morgan each had nine rebounds to lead the Lions. Morgan also had three of the Lions' seven blocked shots.

Hendrix shot just 34 percent from the field (22 of 64) – it was 2-of-17 shooting from 3-point range – and shot only 59 percent from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Kam Brasfield and freshman forward Alex Conrad had 13 points apiece.

Sophomore guard Jack Eaton had a team-high five rebounds.

UAFS will resume play at 3 p.m. on Saturday when the Lions play the Pittsburg State Gorillas at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan.
           
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL
UAFS 90, HENDRIX 59
Hendrix           28        31        --          59
UAFS              51        39        --          90
Hendrix (0-1): Brasfield 13, Conrad 13, Fitch 6, Link 4, Crawford 4, Calamese 4, Eaton 4, Prins 3, Cummings III 3, Rouse 3, Coman 2
UAFS (2-1): Crawford 15, Ward 15, Williams 14, Sivins 11, Ekezie 10, Hawley 9, Morgan 8, Bowie 5, Boyer 3