LR Uses Late Run to Roll Past Georgia State

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock (19-2, 9-1 SBC) used a 14-0 second-half run to pull away from Georgia State (12-7, 5-5 SBC) for a 63-53 win in front of 4,682 fans at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday night.
 
"It was a great atmosphere; the crowd helped us," head coach Chris Beard said after the win. "It felt like a real environment in there tonight. It got loud. It's just kind of special."
 
The win improves Little Rock's home record to 9-0 and extends its win streak at the JSC to 11 games.
 
Down 46-43 after two free throws by Marcus Crider with 10:24 left, Little Rock used a 14-0 run over the next six minutes to regain a lead it would not relinquish. Roger Woods scored inside to start the run, and Josh Hagins followed with a 3-pointer to get the lead back for Little Rock. Mareik Isom scored the next five points, and two more baskets from Woods and Hagins put the Trojans up 57-46 with 4:34 left in regulation.
 
Georgia State pulled no closer than eight the rest of the way.
 
"We've got a lot of respect for Georgia State," Beard said. "They're the champions of our league … So we gave them that type of respect when they came in here tonight … I feel very fortunate to get a win against why I feel like is a post-season type team."
 
With tonight's win, the Trojans are now one victory shy of the program's first 20-win season since 2008-09.
 
Little Rock led by nine at the break, but Georgia State started the second half by scoring the first six points as part of a larger 12-2 run. Kevin Ware's free throws with just over 14 minutes to play gave the Panthers a 40-39 lead as the Trojans hit just 1 of 8 shots to start the second half.
 
Both teams turned the ball over 12 times, but Little Rock finished the game with a 23-9 edge in points off turnovers. Little Rock grabbed seven offensive boards and led 12-0 in second-chance scoring.
 
Hagins finished with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, with nine of those points coming in the final eight minutes. Woods totaled 16 points while making 7 of 8 shots from the floor. Isom came off the bench to knock down three 3-pointers and score 13 points.
 
Georgia State started the game by making its first five shots and led Little Rock 14-11 at the first media timeout. A nearly three-minute scoring drought by GSU allowed Little Rock to take its first lead on Kemy Osse's second 3-pointer that made it 16-14 with 12:23 to play in the half.
 
A 7-0 run midway through the half stretched Little Rock's lead to 25-17. Woods' bucket with 6:21 remaining got the Trojans' lead to double digits for the first time, 29-19. Isom's second 3-pointer capped a 16-3 Little Rock run and put the Trojans up 32-19 with 5:30 left in the half.
 
Georgia State responded with a 7-0 run of its own get back within five and Little Rock closed the half with four straight free throws by Hagins to take a 37-28 lead into intermission.
 
For GSU, Kevin Ware led three players in double figures with 17 points. The Panthers shot 39.1 percent from the floor for the night, including just 8 of 24 in the second half.
 
Little Rock returns to action on Thursday night when it hosts Troy at the JSC. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m.