Little Rock Bounces Back With Road Win at App State

BOONE, N.C. – Little Rock improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in Sun Belt play with a 76-68 win over Appalachian State (5-9, 0-3 SBC) at the Holmes Convocation Center on Saturday.
 
Marcus Johnson Jr., coming off the bench for the first time this season, broke out of a shooting slump with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Deondre Burns scored a career-high 16 and Lis Shoshi scored 15 – 13 in the second half – to go along with six rebounds and three blocks.
 
As a team, the Trojans shot 47.4 percent from the floor while making 9 of 16 from 3-point range. Little Rock handed out 15 assists while committing a season-low seven turnovers. The Trojans finished plus-one on the glass.
 
Tied at the break, Little Rock outscored App State 12-4 to start the second half, forcing a Mountaineer timeout at the 16:42 mark following a Jalen Jackson floater. Little Rock assisted on its first five baskets of the second half.
 
But App State would fight its way back into the game. After Kelvin Robinson's 3-point play to put the Mountaineers up 63-62 with 4:17 to play, Shoshi scored the next four points to put the Trojans up three with 3:00 remaining. Shoshi added a long two-point jumper to extend his and Little Rock's run to six with 2:25 to play.
 
Following two free throws by App's Tyrell Johnson, Burn's 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining put the Trojans on top 71-65. Johnson would add another triple with 30 seconds to play that pushed Little Rock's lead back out to six, 74-68. Stetson Billings added two late free throws.
 
Kinney Griffin and Johnson scored 14 points each to lead Appalachian State. The Mountaineers finished the game shooting 45.3 percent from the field.
 
The score was tied 31-all at halftime after Little Rock scored the final five points before the break. Johnson scored 11 points in 10 minutes off the bench, making 4 of 6 shots and a pair of foul shots to give the Trojans on offensive lift.
 
Appalachian State shot 48.1 percent in the first half but was held without a point for the final three minutes.
 
Little Rock returns to action on Monday at Coastal Carolina in a game that will be televised on ASN and carried on ESPN3. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (Central).
 
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 school's 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.