LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock men's basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 95-49 win over Centenary on Wednesday night at the Jack Stephens Center. Newcomer
Marcus Johnson Jr. knocked down seven 3-pointers – one shy of the arena record – and scored 30 points in just 22 minutes of work.
"I think we have a lot of respect for Centenary's team and program," head coach
Chris Beard said following the game. "Anytime you play against a zone it's a fine line between when do you take the open shot and when do you try to be more aggressive … it's just trying to find that balance of when to shoot the quick one and when to be a little more patient. Tonight will be a great learning experience for us."
Johnson's 30 points came on an 11-of-13 effort from the floor and a 7-of-8 performance from deep. Johnson added four assists and two steals in 22 minutes of work. He becomes the first Little Rock player to score 30 points since Will Neighbour in Jan. 2014.
"My teammates just did a great job of getting me the ball," Johnson said.
Johnson was one of three Trojans to finish in double figures, along with
Jermaine Ruttley (12) and
Josh Hagins (10). Ruttley added nine rebounds and five assists for another complete stat line. Hagins grabbed six boards, handed out five assists and had two steals.
As a team, Little Rock finished the night shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, but caught fire in the second half when it hit 19 of 36 shot from the floor and 8 of 15 from 3-point range. The Trojans were able to turn a nine-point lead at the break into a 46-point win.
In all, 12 Trojans scored on the night, with eight scoring six points or better. Little Rock's bench outscored Centenary's 64-18.
Little Rock dominated the glass, securing a 55-24 margin by the night's end. The Trojans led 21-5 on the offensive boards, leading to a 12-0 edge in second-chance points. Ruttley's nine rebounds led Little Rock.
Maurius Hill and
Lis Shoshi both added seven boards. Stetson Billlings and
Kemy Osse had five each.
The Trojans built a 10-point margin following Ruttley's 3-pointer with 12 minutes to play in the opening half before Centenary pulled as close as two just five minutes later. The Gents were within three points with just over two minutes left in the half when Little Rock closed the half with a 6-0 spurt to push its lead to nine at intermission.
Little Rock scored nine of the first 11 coming out of the break and never looked back. The lead grew to 21 on
Roger Woods' bucket with 13:57 to play. A floater by Johnson put the Trojans up 30 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The margin grew to 40 on a triple by
Evan Moorman with 3:37 left on the clock.
Little Rock will return to action when it faces an early-season road test at San Diego State on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports San Diego.
