LITTLE ROCK (2/21/08) ? Arkansas State was plagued by poor shooting and strong inside play by Arkansas-Little Rock as the Indians fell, 82-52, to the instate rival at the Jack Stephens Center here Thursday night.

“We just weren't ready to play,” said co-interim head coach Shawn Forrest following the game. “We knew they would use their inside game, and we worried about it. We tried to double some inside, but we didn't do well.”

ASU hit 37 percent of its shots from the field (19 of 51) against the Trojans' 55.6 percent (35 of 63). UALR picked up 54 points in the paint to the Indians' 10. The victory marked the first win for UALR over Arkansas State in the last six tries.

ASU's Ryan Wedel got the Tribe on the board first with a three-pointer, but it was all UALR after that. The Indians struggled from the floor and on the boards in the first half, allowing UALR to take a 15-point halftime lead, 38-23. However, things didn't improve in the game's final period as the Trojans went on a 25-6 run early and the Indians could not recover.

Adrian Banks led Arkansas State with 14 points and Wedel added 10, all in the first half. Shawn Morgan was one rebound short of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.

Mike Smith led the Trojans with 12 points and nine rebounds with Shane Edwards adding 10 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Patterson also had 10 points. UALR is now 16-10 overall and 8-7 in Sun Belt Conference play.

ASU lost its eighth straight and is now 9-18 and 4-12. The Indians travel to Denton, Texas to play North Texas Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

“If we can compete hard, there's a chance we could win,” said Forrest. “If we play like we did tonight, we won't. We have to got to work on our effort.”

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