Arkansas-Little Rock G Moore dismissed

Feb 23, 2009 - 8:48 PM LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Ticker) -- Arkansas Little-Rock on Monday dismissed junior guard Steven Moore, the leading scorer for the top team in the Sun Belt Conference.

Moore missed Saturday's win over North Texas after being suspended for walking off the court midway through the first half of a loss to Western Kentucky on Thursday.

Moore, who is averaging 13.6 points, came out of the game with 9:43 left in the half after a disagreement with head coach Steve Shields. He left the floor with 8:10 remaining and went to the locker room, but returned minutes later and sat in the stands.

"I met with Steve this morning and have decided in the best interest of our basketball program to move forward without him. We appreciate Steve's contributions over the last three years and wish him the best going forward," Shields said.

Arkansas-Little Rock (20-7, 13-3 Sun Belt) is first in the West Division and tied with Western Kentucky (13-3, 19-8) for the overall conference lead.

"With us being in a race for the overall conference championship, we have a big week ahead of us with games against New Orleans and Louisiana-Lafayette," Shields said. "I know how excited our guys are about the challenge in front of us."

A Little Rock native, Moore averaged 9.8 points in 84 games. The Trojans are 4-0 without Moore this season. He was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team at the start of the season.