Little Rock Improves to 7-0 with 64-54 Win at Idaho

MOSCOW, Idaho – Little Rock improved to 7-0 for the first time in program history with a 64-54 win over Idaho (5-4) on Saturday at Cowan Spectrum. The Trojans finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor and put three players in double figures.
 
"I'm proud of the players. We had a great game plan," head coach Chris Beard said after the win. "This scout was coach Wes Flanigan, who does a great job, and the guys executed it. I think tonight for maybe the first time in all seven games, we played our kind of basketball. We shot 50 percent from the floor. We had a low turnover game. We played good defense."
 
Little Rock trailed 29-28 at halftime, but outscored Idaho by 11 after the break while holding the Vandals to 26.7 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes. The Trojans made 13 of 25 shots from the floor after halftime.
 
Jalen Jackson led Little Rock with a season-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Jackson added four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 26 minutes. Roger Woods scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 12 points and hit three 3-pointers.
 
The Trojans made 13 of 15 foul shots on the night and finished the game with just 11 turnovers. Little Rock led 30-16 in points in the paint and 19-9 in points off turnovers. The Trojans' reserves outscored Idaho's 39-8.
 
"I think I've said this before, but we're a team that has some experience," Beard said. "Even though we're young playing together, we do have a lot of seniors and juniors on this team that have been through the wars. I like our composure."
 
With the game tied at 44-all, buckets by Jackson, Woods and Lis Shoshi comprised a 6-0 Little Rock run and, at 50-44, gave the Trojans their largest lead of the game to that point. Idaho scored five of the next eight, but consecutive baskets by Jackson and Shoshi pushed Little Rock's lead to eight at 57-49 with 2:55 to play. Little Rock went up 10 on another bucket by Woods with just under two minutes to play.
 
All told, the game featured 10 ties and eight lead changes.
 
Victor Sanders (24) and Perrion Callandret (15) led the Vandals on offense, accounting for 39 of Idaho's 54 points. After scoring 11 points, Callandret was limited to just four points after intermission.
 
Little Rock trailed 29-28 at halftime, despite shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and limiting Idaho to just 37.9 percent. The Vandals hit 11 field goals over the first 20 minutes and six were 3-pointers. The Trojans had difficulty on the glass to start the game, as Idaho led 18-9 overall and 11-3 on the offensive end.
 
Little Rock returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 12 at DePaul. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.