Little Rock Falls to Coastal Carolina, 82-75

LITTLE ROCK – Coastal Carolina (11-12, 6-4 SBC) scored 51 points on 63 percent shooting in the second half to top Little Rock (12-11, 3-7 SBC) 82-75 at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday night. The Trojans led by three at halftime and shot 53.8 percent after the break, but couldn't slow the Chanticleers' hot-shooting offense down the stretch.
 
Coastal Carolina started the second half by scoring 15 points in the first five minutes, including a 10-0 run that saw five straight made baskets. Jaylen Shaw's free throws with 14:57 remaining put Coastal up 48-43.
 
CCU's lead grew as large as 12 on Demario Beck's jumper that put the Chanticleers up 62-50 with 9:25 to play. With Little Rock trailing 67-57 at the 7:12 mark, a 7-0 run that included five points from Marcus Johnson Jr. pulled the Trojans within three with 5:04 remaining.
 
Little Rock again pulled within three on Jalen Jackson's floater that made it 71-68 with 3:30 left. But Coastal scored the next four points to push the margin back to seven with under three minutes to play and the Trojans got no closer than four the rest of the way.
 
Jackson led four Trojans in double figures with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Johnson, Kemy Osse and Maurius Hill all scored 11 points. Johnson added a team-high eight assists and seven rebounds.
 
Lis Shoshi totaled five points and four rebounds in 18 minutes in his first action since injuring his toe at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 9.
 
Shaw scored 21 points to pace Coastal Carolina. Colton Ray-St Cyr (16), Artur Labinowicz (14) and Beck (12) all scored in double figures.
 
CCU finished the game shooting 55.8 percent from the floor compared to 48.3 percent for the Trojans. Little Rock's bench outscored Coastal's 37-20.
 
The first half saw five ties and five lead changes. Little Rock built a 17-11 less than 10 minutes into the game before Coastal used a 9-0 run on four straight made baskets to take a 20-17 lead with under eight minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Trojans retook the lead on Osse's triple that made the score 30-29 with 1:56 until halftime. Oliver Black's offensive board and putback to close the half put Little Rock on top 34-31 heading into intermission.
 
Coastal Carolina finished the first half shooting 48 percent, but eight Chanticleer turnovers led to a 12-4 Little Rock advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Jackson scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first half to lead the Trojans on offense. Osse had nine points on three made 3-pointers.
 
Little Rock is back in action Monday against Appalachian State at the Jack Stephens Center. The game will be televised on the American Sports Network, streamed on ESPN3 and will tip off at 8 p.m.
 
Sun Belt Championship Tickets
 
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