Solomon Bozeman knew something had to change.
The Arkansas-Little Rock guard had just been a part of the Trojans' third straight loss, this one at home to North Texas on March 1. The defeat dropped UALR below .500 for the season and to the fifth seed during the pending Sun Belt Conference tournament.
None of that was good enough for Bozeman, the senior who was enjoying a breakout season for the Trojans. The day following the loss to the Mean Green, Bozeman called a players' only meeting and told his teammates that he knew they were capable of much more.
''I just told everybody to keep believing and keep fighting,'' Bozeman said. '''We've got to have each other's back, and this is going to be a life-long memory if we can get this done.'''
The belief paid off for the Trojans (19-16), who won four games in as many days at the conference tournament to earn the school's first NCAA appearance in 21 years. They will face fellow No. 16 seed North Carolina-Asheville on Tuesday in one of the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio.
UALR capped the unexpected run with a dramatic 64-63 win over defending tournament champion North Texas in the championship game. That win was sealed by a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left by Bozeman, the Sun Belt's Player of the Year.
''I just didn't want to let this team down,'' Bozeman said.
Few expected the Trojans would be capable of such an effort as they struggled through an 8-22 season a year ago. It was the first on the court at UALR for Bozeman, who sat out the season before after transferring from South Florida.
Bozeman averaged 14.3 points as a junior for the Trojans while playing primarily at the point. With recruits D'Andre Williams and Chuck Guy on the way, UALR coach Steve Shields told Bozeman he would play more a shooting guard role as a senior.
To better prepare for his new role, and to shake any lingering negative feelings from the 8-22 season, Bozeman and his teammates went through a grueling offseason program. It included 4-5 days a week of agility, speed and conditioning work as well as lifting weights every day.
The 6-foot Bozeman lost 10 pounds during the work, dropping his playing weight to 180 pounds. He felt the difference immediately on the court in the form of a quickness he hadn't felt since arriving at South Florida as a 155-pound freshman.
''Solomon's a gym rat,'' Shields said. ''He's not the most athletic guy. He doesn't have a great vertical. He's not the fastest guy on our team by any stretch.
''But he knows how to play.''
His father, former Mississippi assistant coach and current Southern Arkansas coach Eric Bozeman, also noticed the change. Bozeman didn't travel to the Sun Belt tournament, not after his son had struggled in the three regular-season games he had attended.
That said, he liked what he saw while watching on television.
''He called me every night,'' Bozeman said. ''In fact, he called me when they were cutting down the nets and that was enough for me.''
Solomon Bozeman averaged 16.5 points this season for the Trojans, hitting 64 of 138 3-pointers (46.4 percent). He led UALR in scoring in each of the four conference tournament wins, averaging 22 points during the run.
He finished with 20 points in the championship game despite sitting out the final 9:31 of the first half with two fouls. None of those points were bigger than his final three, which capped a comeback from seven points down with less than 2 minutes remaining and sparked an on-court celebration Bozeman and his teammates won't soon forget.
''We just kept fighting and kept believing in each other,'' Bozeman said. ''We stayed together.''
Next up for the UALR is its first trip to the NCAAs since 1990. Shields gave the Trojans two days off last week following the four-day tournament run, with hopes of sticking around a little longer than expected.
''We're excited to be where we are and play for another day,'' Shields said. ''We have high hopes of playing very well and continuing that for another day after that first day.
''We're not just happy just to be here.''
