Trojans Come From Behind to Top ECU, Stay Perfect

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Little Rock used an offensive surge in the second half and a suffocating defensive effort to top East Carolina 54-46 in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Trojans outscored the Pirates by 16 over the final 20 minutes while limiting ECU to just 31 percent shooting for the game.

"I think today it was apparent that we have a team with a lot of leadership in terms of experience," head coach Chris Beard said after the win. "At halftime, there wasn't any panic. It was more like, 'We've gotten some good shots, now we just have to make some and continue to play defense.' Give Brian Burg a lot of credit. He had a great defensive scout. Our offense was not very efficient, but because of our defense we were able to stay in the game, and then I thought we made some plays late."
 
Down eight at halftime, Little Rock scored seven of the first nine to start the second half and used a pair of 8-0 spurts midway through to half to build a lead it would not relinquish.
 
The Trojans were able to make adjustments at intermission after scoring 15 points on a 3-of-25 shooting performance over the first 20 minutes. East Carolina shot just 9-of-26 in the first half but entered the locker room with a 23-15 lead.
 
Marcus Johnson Jr. led Little Rock on offense with 13 points, including a 6-of-6 effort at the free throw line. Josh Hagins added 11 points while Lis Shoshi chipped in eight points.
 
Little Rock started the second half by scoring seven of the first nine points. Hagins' pull-up 3-pointer made it 25-22 at the half's first media timeout.
 
The Trojans took their first lead since the 9:01 mark of the first half on transition baskets by Johnson and Osse. First, Johnson used a crafty finish to pull Little Rock within one. Johnson then found Osse for an open triple in transition less than a minute later to put Little Rock up 29-27.
 
Following two ECU free throws that tied the game, Little Rock used 3-pointers by Johnson and Hagins and a paint bucket by Isom to fuel an 8-0 run and build a 37-29 lead. After the Pirates answered with a trey by Caleb White, Johnson scored again in transition to push Little Rock's lead to seven and grow the run to 15-5 overall.
 
The Trojans finished the game with six turnovers and committed zero in the second half – the second straight game Little Rock has played a complete half without a turnover.
 
Little Rock's defense forced East Carolina into 22 turnovers and held a 24-3 edge in points off turnovers. The Trojans' bench outscored ECU's 22-16. Little Rock held a 16-6 edge in points in the paint.
 
Defense reigned supreme early as both teams combined to shoot 2 of 18 over the game's first eight minutes. The Trojans were able to get some offense flowing when buckets by Hagins and Shoshi were followed with a pair of free throws by Johnson to give Little Rock a 9-7 lead with 8:58 to play in the half.
 
The Pirates would answer with the half's defining run, scoring 14 of the next 16 points to take a 21-11 lead with 2:30 until halftime. The Trojans would hit their final four free throws of the half to pull within 23-15 at intermission.
 
Little Rock returns to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Tulsa. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN3.