STARKVILLE, Miss. – Little Rock gave Mississippi State all it could handle in the first half, confusing the Bulldogs defensively. But the home team found its scoring touch in the second half, wearing down the Trojans en route to a 64-48 victory at Humphrey Coliseum.
With the loss, Little Rock closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule at 3-10 while Mississippi State improved to 10-1 on the year. The Bulldogs also improve to 4-1 all-time against the Trojans.
Nine different players scored for Little Rock on the evening as the Trojans shot 37.0 percent from the floor, including hitting four of its 20 three-point attempts.
Damir Hadzic led the way with nine points for Little Rock, followed by seven each for
Anthony Black and
Ryan Pippins.
Oliver Black added six points and five rebounds in his return to Humphrey Coliseum while dishing out a pair of assists.
Ben Marcus also finished with six points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor with four rebounds.
Jaizec Lottie matched Black with a team-high five rebounds, complemented by four points from the floor.
Brandon Brady also notched a career-high four points while pulling down a pair of rebounds.
One of the biggest discrepancies came at the free throw line where Little Rock shot just 10 foul shots on the night, making four, with Mississippi State hitting 15 of its 27 attempts. The Bulldogs also forced 21 Trojan turnovers, compared to just 12 forced by Little Rock, leading to a 27-10 edge in points off those turnovers for Mississippi State.
Facing a team receiving votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll, Little Rock was able to set the tempo early, leading quickly by three at 7-4, then again at 11-8, thanks to five from Hadzic and four from Pippins off the bench.
Mississippi State used a 9-0 run to take the 17-11, but a long three from Corcoran, followed by a steal and a lay-up from Lottie trimmed the deficit to one at 17-16 with just over nine minutes to play in the opening half.
Stout defense by Little Rock then kept the Trojans in the game, keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for over four and a half minutes. Little Rock reclaimed the lead at 20-19 with 4:14 remaining off a baseline jumper from Jones, using a 9-2 run in the process.
The Trojan advantage reached 23-21 off a three from A. Black with 3:04 remaining as Little Rock held Mississippi State without a basket for the final 8:31, making just one of its last 15 shots over the final 10 minutes. But an 18-2 edge in free throws for the Bulldogs gave Mississippi State the 26-23 lead at the half.
But after struggling to find its shooting touch in the first half, the Bulldogs found it early in the second, scoring six points in the first 1:39 to extend their lead to nine at 32-23 and never looked back.
The Trojans pulled back to within five at 32-27 with just over 17 minutes remaining, capped by a dunk from O. Black. But that was as close as Little Rock would get to staging the upset as the Bulldogs put together an 8-2 run to take control at 40-29.
Mississippi State outscored Little Rock 38-25 in the second half, extending its lead to as many as 22 before closing out the 64-48 victory over the Trojans on its home court.
Mississippi State was led by 21 points from Quinndary Weatherspoon, who also added eight rebounds, with Aric Holman adding 10 points for the Bulldogs. Abdul Ado led all players with 13 rebounds on the night.
With the non-conference slate wrapped up, Little Rock now turns its attention to the 18-game Sun Belt Conference schedule on the horizon, beginning with Louisiana on Friday, December 29 at the Jack Stephens Center. Tip against the Ragin' Cajuns will be at approximately 7:15 p.m.
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