SAN MARCOS, Texas –
Josh Hagins' step-back 3-pointer as time expired lifted Little Rock to a 77-74 overtime win at Texas State Thursday night. The Trojans trailed by nine at halftime and led for just 6:04 of the game's 45 total minutes.
"I thought it was a really close basketball game," head coach
Chris Beard said after the win. "It was almost like who was going to get the ball last was going to win. Then the game went to overtime and I thought we played really well offensively in the overtime. That was really the difference in a very, very close game."
Little Rock (16-2, 6-1 SBC) hit 7 of 8 jumpers in the extra period, but needed Hagins' jumper at the horn after Texas State (8-7, 2-4 SBC) turned a six-point Trojans lead into a tie game with consecutive 3-pointers over the final 30 seconds.
After the Bobcats' final made 3 with 12 seconds on the clock, Hagins drove down the court and pulled up for the jumper, which dropped through the net just as the final horn sounded.
Hagins led four Trojans in double figures with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 performance at the foul line.
Mareik Isom scored a season-high 14 points while making all five of his shots from the floor.
Lis Shoshi and
Kemy Osse added 13 points each.
The Trojans, who trailed by as many as 14 in the opening half, faced a 10-point deficit at intermission. The team responded by cranking up the defensive intensity after halftime, limiting Texas State to just five made field goals in the second half.
Little Rock's comeback effort didn't come in one burst, as the Trojans did not regain the lead until there were less than seven minutes to play in regulation.
Isom, who was one missed free throw from a perfect shooting night, connected on a 3-pointer with 16:06 remaining to bring Little Rock within four, 40-36. The Trojans again pulled within two baskets after
Jalen Jackson's free throw made it 45-41 with 11:18 to play.
Little Rock pulled within a point on four separate occasions before regaining its first lead since the opening minutes. Triples from Osse and
Roger Woods cut the margin to one. Later, Woods found Shoshi for a dunk to make it 50-49 with eight minutes to go. Hagins' jumper with 7:30 to play made it 52-21, and two Hagins free throws 41 seconds later gave the Trojans a 53-52 lead.
Texas State answered with two free throws, and Osse split a pair at the line on Little Rock's next possession to tie the game at 54-all.
Ethan Monalvo's jumper with 4:23 to play gave Texas State a two-point lead. The next points wouldn't come until a step-back jumper from Hagins with less than two minutes to play that put Little Rock up 57-56.
Montalvo answered with a 3 to put Texas State up 59-57, and after both teams came up empty on their next possessions, Hagins hit a floater to tie the game at 59-all with 19 seconds left. Texas State called timeout with just under 11 seconds on the clock, but Cameron Naylor's shot at the horn was off the mark to end regulation.
Hagins scored eight of Little Rock's final 10 points to close regulation.
Little Rock opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer from Osse and added one from Isom shortly thereafter to take its largest lead to that point, 65-60, with 3:10 to play. Despite baskets from Isom and Shoshi, Texas State scored on its next three possessions to get back within 69-68.
Little Rock responded with a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer by Osse and steal and finish by Johnson to take a six-point lead, 74-68, with 1:09 left in overtime.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 10 of 15 from 3-point range and 26 of 49 (.531) overall. Texas State made 23 of 53 shots from the floor (.434).
Montalvo scored 28 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 5-of-10 shooting from 3 to lead all scorers. Kavin Gilder-Tilbury added 15 points while Ojai Black scored 13 for the Bobcats.
Little Rock's new starting lineup that included Woods and
Marcus Johnson Jr. still resulted in another slow start as Texas State jumped out to a 15-2 lead less than six minutes into the game. The Bobcats hit 6 of their first 10 shots, while three early Little Rock turnovers led to eight Bobcat points.
The Trojans outscored Texas State by eight over the next seven minutes, making 5 of 7 shots at one point and pulling within five on Woods' baseline floater that made it 20-15 with 6:59 to go in the half.
Texas State countered with its own run, scoring the next four points and going on a 7-0 spurt later in the half to collect its largest lead at 35-21 at the 1:46 mark. Shoshi's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer made it a 38-28 deficit entering intermission.
Little Rock is back in action Saturday at UT Arlington. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m.
