LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock and Arkansas-Pine Bluff battled for 28 minutes Saturday evening, but a 20-2 Golden Lion run midway through the second half put the game away as the Trojans fell 75-66 at the Jack Stephens Center.
With the loss, Little Rock falls to 3-3 on the year while UAPB improves to 2-4. The Trojans drop their first game at the Jack Stephens Center this season and now sit at 2-1.
Little Rock's effort was led by a career night for
Nikola Maric, who finished with his first career double-double, notching 20 points and 12 rebounds while registering three blocks. Maric connected on six of his 10 shots from the floor and went 8-of-11 from the free throw line, accounting for all but two of the Trojans points from the charity stripe.
Markquis Nowell posted 13 points with a pair of steals and assists for the Trojans with Kris Banskton just missing a double-double of his own, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds for Little Rock, making six of his seven attempts from the floor.
Dani Koljanin added eight points with
Jaizec Lottie finishing with six points, six assists and six rebounds for Little Rock which shot 46.4 percent from the floor (26-of-56). But the damage was done at the three-point line as Little Rock made just four of its 19 attempts for a season-low 21.1 percent, compared to 10-of-28 for the Golden Lions.
The Trojans held advantages in rebounding (42-37) and points in the paint (38-26), but fell victim to 15 turnovers forced by UAPB, which resulted in an 18-8 edge for the Golden Lions in points off turnovers. UAPB's bench also outscored that of the Trojans 29-13.
Meeting for the first time since 2016, Little Rock and UAPB matched each other basket-for-basket through the opening eight minutes of play as the Trojans fought back from a four-point deficit to take a 14-13 lead at the 12:08 mark of the opening half.
The Golden Lions responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to race out to its largest lead of the game, holding a seven-point advantage at 21-14. After a lay-up by UAPB at the 8:07 mark to take a 26-20 lead, Little Rock held the Golden Lions without a basket for the next five minutes, trimming away at the deficit before tying the game at 27-27 off a dunk from Bankston with 3:27 to play.
But the field goal drought then shifted to Little Rock, who made just twos field goals over the final three minutes and saw as UAPB extended its halftime lead to seven at 38-31, accentuated by a three-pointer as time expired.
The Trojans outshot the Golden Lions in the first half, connecting on 52 percent of its shots compared to 38.9 percent for UABP, but the difference came beyond the three-point arc as the Golden Lions hit 8-of-19 while the Trojans failed to connect, missing all six of their attempts.
UAPB extended its lead to eight early in the second half but Little Rock responded, stringing together a 14-4 run to take the lead at 49-47 with 13:41 to go. However the final stretch belonged to the Golden Lions who put the game away with the 20-2 run over the ensuing five minutes to take a 67-51 lead and never looked back.
The Golden Lions extended their lead to as many as 18 at 74-56 with 2:58 to go before Little Rock attempted one final comeback, getting the deficit to under 10 at 66-75 with under a minute to go. But the deficit proved too large as UAPB sealed the victory, its first over the Trojans since a 90-67 win in the 1977-78 season.
As part of the Continental Tires Las Vegas Holiday Classic, UAPB captured the Little Rock Bracket championship trophy, going 2-0 on the weekend. The Trojans'
Nikola Maric was named to the All-Tournament team joined by Cal Baptist's Milan Acquaahh, Howard's R.J. Cole and UAPB's Charles Jackson and MVP Martaveous McKnight.
The Trojans were shorthanded in its matchup against the Golden Lions, missing leading scorer
Rayjon Tucker as well as
Deondre Burns, who scored a career-high 29 the night before against Howard. Both were held out of the game due to minor injuries.
Little Rock now tries to right the ship against another in-state foe, making the short trip to Conway Wednesday to take on Central Arkansas. Tip-off against the Bears will be at 7 p.m. at the Farris Center as part of the Governor's I-40 Showdown.
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