Little Rock Never Trails in Win Over South Alabama

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock cruised to a 74-43 win over South Alabama (9-14, 4-8 SBC) Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center, moving to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in Sun Belt play. The Trojans finished the game shooting 58.2 percent from the floor while limiting the Jaguars to 28.8 percent shooting.
 
"I'm just really thrilled to win," head coach Chris Beard said following the game. "We have a lot of respect for South Alabama's program. They're really well coached and they have really good players – maybe the best athletes in our conference position for position."
 
Tonight's win ties Little Rock with Xavier for the best record in the nation. The victory also moves Little Rock to 11-0 at the JSC in 2015-16, and gives the program 13 straight home wins dating back to last season.
 
With tonight's win, Little Rock joins the 1992-93 New Orleans squad as one of two teams in the history of the Sun Belt Conference to win 21 of the first 23 games to start a season.
 
"I thought we guarded at a high level tonight," Beard said. "Our defense always starts with our offense … but I thought our guys were dialed in."
 
The Trojans turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 31-point win thanks to a 72.0 percent shooting effort over the final 20 minutes. The Trojans made 18 of 25 shots after the break compared to 7 of 27 shots from South Alabama.
 
Little Rock handed out a season-high 23 assists on 32 made baskets.
 
Little Rock finished the game with a 38-24 edge on the glass and led 17-7 in second-chance points. The Trojans' reserves outscored USA's 32-16.
 
Little Rock started the second half on a 9-0 run to turn a 12-point halftime lead into a 42-21 cushion less than two minutes into the half. Lis Shoshi's dunk at the 18:10 mark double South Alabama up and put the crowd on its feet to force a Jags timeout.
 
Roger Woods led three Little Rock players in double figures with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Marcus Johnson Jr. added 11 points while knocking down 3 of 5 3-pointers. Jalen Jackson added 10 points off the bench.
 
Josh Hagins finished the game with nine points, six assists and seven rebounds. Lis Shoshi turned in another all-around effort, totaling eight points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Jermaine Ruttley scored five points while handing out a season-high six assists.
 
The Trojans, who never trailed in the game, scored the first five points and led 10-2 less than five minutes into the contest. Little Rock's lead ballooned to 21-7 on a jumper by Shoshi with 11:21 to play in the half.
 
South Alabama pulled as close as seven on a five-point run by Georgi Boyanov to make it 26-19 with 5:22 left until halftime. The Trojans scored seven of the final nine before intermission to build a 33-21 lead at the break.
 
Ken Williams led the Jaguars with nine points while making 3 of 12 shots from the floor.
Little Rock returns to action with a pair of road games this week. The Trojans are at ULM on Thursday night before taking on Louisiana in Lafayette, La., on Saturday.