Trojans Clinch First-Ever Outright SBC Championship

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock (26-3, 16-2 SBC) clinched its first-ever outright regular-season Sun Belt Conference Championship and matched its program record for single-season wins with a 73-68 win over Texas State (12-14, 6-11 SBC) on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in front of a crowd of 5,168.
 
"Thank you for everything, Little Rock," head coach Chris Beard said while addressing the crowd after the win. "Thank you for helping us win the conference championship. We're not finished yet – we'll see everyone back here on Tuesday."
 
Tonight's win also establishes a new program record for single-season Sun Belt Conference victories (16). With the win, Little Rock becomes the first team in the country to 26 wins in 2015-16, and currently boasts the best record in the nation at 26-3 (.897).
 
The Trojans never trailed, but a late 13-2 Texas State run pulled the Bobcats within three, 69-66, with under a minute to play. Mareik Isom was fouled and hit both free throws on Little Rock's next possession. After the Trojans' defense came up with a stop on the other end, Roger Woods followed an offensive rebound with a dunk to put Little Rock up 73-66 with 12 seconds to play.
 
Marcus Johnson Jr. led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from 3. Isom added a season-high 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep while Josh Hagins (11) and Woods (10) were both in double figures. Hagins added seven assists while Woods pulled down five boards.
 
The Trojans finished the game shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and 55.0 percent from 3-point range. The Trojans made 14 of 16 free throws on the night.
 
Little Rock hit five of its first six shots from 3 to start the game, building a 19-8 lead by the time of the first media timeout. Hagins and Isom both hit triples, while Johnson knocked down his first three shots from deep.
 
The Trojans took a 35-21 lead into intermission after holding Texas State to 9-of-28 shooting in the first half. The Trojans finished the half shooting 7 of 12 from 3, with Johnson and Isom making three apiece.
 
Little Rock led by as many as 19 in the opening half.
 
The win moves Little Rock to 13-0 at the Jack Stephens Center and runs the team's win streak to 15 dating back to last year.
 
The Trojans will play the regular-season home finale on Tuesday vs. Arkansas State. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m. from the Jack Stephens Center.