MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello Men’s Basketball team hosted Williams Baptist College at Steelman Field House on Saturday afternoon for their third home game of the 2022-23 season. The Weevils came out of their fifth contest of the year with a 71-64 win over the Eagles.
Newcomer Edwin Louis once again led the way for Arkansas-Monticello (3-2) with an incredible 18 point, 12 assist double-double performance. Louis posted a 64% on field goals, hitting 7-11 throughout the match. He also went 4-5 on shots from three-point range with two rebounds contributed on the night.
Mario Fantina also scored 18 points of his own in Saturday afternoon’s showdown. He went 6-12 on shots within two point range, 1-6 on shots beyond-the-arc and 5-5 on free throws. He posted six defensive rebounds of his own in the game.
Timur Krupalija gave a dominant performance for the Weevils, claiming a double-double of his own with 12 points scored and a team leading 10 rebounds. He totaled 3-9 on field goals and 6-8 on free throws.
Williams Baptist was led by Duke Hardin with 21 points.
The first half of the match began with an Edwin Louis three to give Arkansas-Monticello an early lead, but was quickly matched by five points from Williams Baptist. The Eagles would build their lead to a four point advantage, but would lose it as the Boll Weevils refound their stride. The remainder of the half proved to be a dog fight between the two teams as the lead was in grabbing distance for the entirety of the opening 20 minutes. UAM would go 54% on field goals, hitting 14 out of 26 attempts, as well was 5-9 on three-point shots. The Eagles on the other hand would out-shoot UAM by a whopping 19 shots, going 13-35 on field goals and 6-19 on shots beyond-the-arc. The Weevils were able to put up 35 points throughout the entirety, leading 35-34 as the two teams would head into the locker room.
The second half opened with a jumper from Mario Fantina, but was followed by points from the Eagles to take back their lead over UAM. They would hold this advantage for the next four minutes of play before Monticello would pull back ahead. Arkansas-Monticello would not lose the advantage for the remainder of the half. The match would eventually come out of a nail biting closing minutes with Arkansas-Monticello on top 71-64.
Arkansas-Monticello committed 16 turnovers in the entirety of the match.
UP NEXT
The Weevils return to action on Thursday, December 1 when they travel to Russellville, Arkansas to ope up Great American Conference play against Arkansas Tech University. The game is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
All live streams and live stats will be available as clickable links on the UAM Men’s basketball schedule.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Arkansas-Monticello used the starting lineup of Mario Fantina,Edwin Louis,Isaac Jackson,Alex Brogdon and Timur Krupalija for the fifth time this season.
- The Weevils also used this starting five in the season opener against Augustana University on Nov. 11.
- The Weevils have won 24-straight games when scoring 70 or more points.
- This is dating back to the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
- Edwin Louis and Mario Fantina scored a team-high 18 points.
- Both have scored double digits in 4-5 games played this season.
- Louis still leads UAM in scoring on the year with 72 total points through five games, averaging 14.4.
- Fantina is close behind with 69 total points, averaging 13.8.
- Edwin Louis and Timur Krupalija both found a double-double in the match.
- These are the first double-doubles by a Weevil in the 2022-23 season.
- Krupalija’s 10 rebounds are the most by a Weevil this year.
- Louis’ 12 assists is also the most by a Weevil this year.
- Timur Krupalija has now scored double digits in three games this season.
How to follow the Weevils: For more information on Arkansas-Monticello Men’s Basketball, visit www.uamsports.com and follow the team’s social media channels on Twitter, InstagramandFacebook.
#GoWeevils | #WeevilNation
