LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock came out firing from the opening whistle and built a commanding first half lead, notching its first Sun Belt Conference victory of the year with a 71-62 win over ULM Sunday at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans improve to 4-11 on the year and 1-1 in conference play with ULM falling to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Sun Belt action.
Three players finished in double figures for Little Rock, led by career-highs for both
Ryan Pippins and
Camron Reedus. Pippins finished with 15, including going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, while Reedus finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
Ben Marcus added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting with a pair of rebounds. For the season, Marcus has made 44 of his 56 shots, hitting at a 78.6% for the season.
Oliver Black just missed joining the club, and just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds, marking his fourth double digit rebounding performance of the year.
In all, nine different players scored for the Trojans with
Anthony Black adding eight points and a pair of rebounds with
Andre Jones adding six points and three assists in the win.
Little Rock's bench proved to be the catalyst for the victory, outscoring ULM's bench 45-3. 38 of those points came from the trio of Pippins, Reedus and Marcus while
Cameron Corcoran finished with five and
Kris Bankston added a pair, complementing his career-best seven rebounds and two blocks.
For the game, Little Rock shot 47.9 percent from the floor (23-of-48), connecting on 28 percent of its three-point attempts (7-of-25) while holding ULM to just 33.3 percent from the floor (17-of-51) and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-22). But one of the major changes came at the foul line where Little Rock hit 18 of 23 free throws (78.3%), a stark contrast to its 3-of-12 performance Friday.
Looking to close out 2017 on a positive note, Little Rock put together one of its best opening halves of the season, opening the game with three-straight threes from Jones, A. Black and Hadzic.
It sparked an offensive charge which saw eight different Trojans score in the opening 20 minutes, five of which connected from beyond the arc, giving the Trojans the 36-24 edge at the half.
Little Rock led by as many as 15 in the first half, shooting 46.4 percent from the floor (13-of-28) and 40.0 percent from three (6-of-15). Little Rock hit all four of its attempts at the free throw line as well after going 3-of-12 in the loss to Louisiana Friday.
Defensively, the Trojans were up to the task as well as ULM made just one of 14 field goals in a nearly 14-minutes stretch, including going over 10 minutes without a basket from the floor. The Warhawks shot just 23.1 percent in the opening half (6-of-26), making just two of their 10 three-point attempts (20.0%).
But Little Rock's quick start to the first half was matched by a big run by ULM to open the second as the Warhawks used a 13-3 run to pull to within two at 39-37 with just over 16 minutes remaining.
However the Trojans were able to weather the storm, keeping the Warhawks at bay while pushing their lead back to double digits. A 7-0 run near the midway point of the second gave Little Rock the 51-41 advantage, one they wouldn't relinquish. The Trojans clamped down again defensively, holding the Warhawks to just two field goals over the final five minutes en route to the nine-point victory.
With the win, Little Rock evens its record at the Jack Stephens Center at 4-4. The Trojans improve to 18-14 all-time against the Warhawks and are now 8-4 against ULM at the Jack. Little Rock's record on New Year's Eve also improves to 5-2, with three of those wins coming at the expense of the Warhawks.
Little Rock now prepares for its first Sun Belt road trip of the season, heading to Georgia for a pair in the Peach State. That trip begins on Thursday, January 4, facing Georgia State in Atlanta at 6:15 p.m. CT.
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