LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock will look to sweep the season series with ULM when it takes on the Warhawks at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live and free through ULMWarhawks.com.
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The Trojans will also be looking for a weekend split after falling 88-82 at Louisiana on Saturday night. Little Rock scored 57 second-half points – its most in a half all season – and shot 52.9 percent after the break, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 45-25 hole at halftime.
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Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 26 points in the loss, his 16
th double-figure scoring performance on the year. Johnson made 7 of 13 shots from the floor and 8 of 9 from the foul line and now leads the Sun Belt Conference in free throw shooting percentage (.828).
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The Trojans also received offensive contributions from
Maurius Hill (17 points) and
Deondre Burns (12). Burns is averaging 13.3 points on 49.0 percent shooting from the floor, 42.9 percent from 3 and 90.0 percent at the free throw line since being inserted into the starting lineup at Appalachian State.
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ULM is 6-15 on the year and 0-8 in Sun Belt Conference play. Two of the Warhawks' eight Sun Belt losses have come in overtime, including their matchup at Little Rock on Dec. 31.
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Travis Munnings and Sam McDaniel lead ULM at 12.2 ppg. Three more Warhawks are averaging at least 9.2 ppg.
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Little Rock leads ULM 17-13 in the all-time series, but ULM leads 7-6 in games in Monroe. The Warhawks have won the last three matchups at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
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In the season's first meeting between the teams, Little Rock topped ULM 79-75 in overtime after trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half. The Trojans finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the foul line. ULM shot 40.7 percent from the field while making 11 of 29 (.379) from deep.
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Head coach Keith Richard is in his seventh season as head coach.
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Quick Hits
• Little Rock enters Monday's matchup at ULM coming off an 88-82 loss at Louisiana on Saturday night.
• Little Rock's 57 second-half points against the Cajuns were its most in a half all season. The Trojans shot 52.9 percent and made seven 3-pointers after halftime.
• Little Rock leads the Sun Belt Conference and ranks 39th nationally in free throw percentage (.751).
• Little Rock is shooting a league-best 81.7 percent from the foul line in Sun Belt games.
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Deondre Burns has averaged 13.3 points on 49.0 percent shooting from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range since being inserted into the starting lineup vs. Appalachian State (1/7).
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Marcus Johnson Jr. has averaged 19.0 points on 50.7 percent shooting over Little Rock's last six games.
• In Sun Belt games, Johnson ranks seventh in the league in scoring (16.5 ppg) and sixth in assists (3.0 apg).
• Little Rock leads ULM 17-13 in the all-time series. ULM leads 7-6 in games played in Monroe and has won three straight at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
• Little Rock won the season's first meeting with ULM 79-75 in overtime on Dec. 31 at the Jack Stephens Center.
Sun Belt Championship Tickets
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
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