TULSA, Okla. – Little Rock raced out to a commanding first half lead and kept Tulsa at bay in the opening half. But the Golden Hurricane used a second half surge to pull away, handing the Trojans an 88-78 loss at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
The loss drops the Trojans to 2-2 on the year while the Golden Hurricane improve to 4-0. It marked the second game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic for both teams.
Rayjon Tucker had another big game for Little Rock, picking up the Trojans' first double-double of the season, finishing with a career-high in both points (24) and rebounds (10). He was one of four players to score in double figures, complemented by a season-high 14 from
Deondre Burns off the bench.
Nikola Maric finished with 12 points with five rebounds with
Kris Bankston adding 10 points and five rebounds of his own.
Kamani Johnson nearly finished in double figures as well, posting eight points for Little Rock in seven minutes before fouling out.
For the game, the Trojans shot 51.8 percent from the floor, connecting on 29 of 56 attempts, but the game turned into a free throw shooting contest as Little Rock and Tulsa combined for 67 free throws on the night. The Trojans struggled again from the free throw line, making just 15 of its 28 attempts (53.6%) while the Golden Hurricane connected on 27 of its 39 attempts (69.2%).
Little Rock raced out to a quick start, scoring 16 of the game's first 20 points as Tulsa missed its first 11 shots from the floor. But Little Rock turnovers allowed the Golden Hurricane to keep the game close early as the Trojans committed eight in the opening 10 minutes, seeing their lead trimmed to 16-14 with 9:18 remaining.
But Tucker continued to show his ability to take over games, upping his first half point total to 15 as Little Rock extended its lead back to eight at 26-18 with just over six minutes remaining. Tulsa put together a run of its own, trimming the Trojan lead to one at 32-31 with 2:46 remaining.
Bankston then threw down back-to-back dunks for the Trojans and Tucker knocked down a three in the corner, extending Little Rock's lead back to six at 39-33 with just over a minute to go in the half. Holding a 40-37 lead with time winding down, Tucker pulled up and hit and 15-foot jumper as time expired, giving him 21 for the first half and a 42-37 Little Rock halftime lead.
Little Rock shot 51.6 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but its Achilles heel of free throw shooting came back to strike again as the Trojans connected on just 7-of-17 from the charity stripe, allowing Tulsa to keep the game close.
The momentum Little Rock started with in the first half shifted to Tulsa to start the second as the Hurricanes used a 10-0 run over the first two minutes to take its first lead of the game at 49-46. Tulsa extended its lead to six at 58-52 before back-to-back baskets from
Markquis Nowell and Burns drew the Trojans to within two at 58-56 with just under 13 minutes to play.
But foul trouble caught up with Little Rock down the stretch as four different players fouled out, allowing Tulsa to start to pull away. An 8-0 run gave the Golden Hurricane a 68-58 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.
Little Rock was able to get the deficit down to six on a pair of occasions, but key shots and free throws down the stretch for the Golden Hurricane propelled Tulsa to the 88-78 victory. After outscoring the Golden Hurricane 42-37 in the first half, the Trojans were outscored 51-36 in the second half, thanks in part to Tulsa holding a 23-9 edge in points off turnovers, forcing the Trojans into 19.
Tulsa improves to 6-5 all-time against Little Rock and the Trojans are now 1-5 all-time at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tulsa matched Little Rock with four double-digit scorers, finishing at 48.3 percent from the floor.
Little Rock now gets to enjoy a lengthy stay in Arkansas as six of its next seven games are at the Jack Stephens Center with the one road game during that span just 30 miles up the road in Conway. That stretch begins this weekend with the home portion of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic, beginning Friday against Howard at 3:30 p.m.
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