CONWAY, Ark. – For the second-straight game, a second-half surge by an in-state rival does in Little Rock as the Trojans fall 78-65 to Central Arkansas at the Farris Center Wednesday evening.
The loss is the second-straight in the series for the Trojans against the Bears as Little Rock drops to 3-4 on the year with Central Arkansas now sitting at 3-4 on the year as well.
A glaring downfall for Little Rock came at the free throw line where Little Rock connected on just 19.0% from the charity stripe, going 4-for-21 and missing 13-straight at one point. For the game, the Trojans shot 40.9% from the floor (27-of-66) and 28.0% from three-point range (7-of-25).
Rayjon Tucker led the way offensively for the Trojans, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds with three steals, followed by 14 points for
Ryan Pippins. They were the only two Trojans to finish in double figures, however, with
Kris Bankston and
Kamani Johnson each adding eight points.
Jaizec Lottie had a solid outing for Little Rock, finishing with with seven points, eight rebounds and five assists as he was one of the four Trojans to make a free throw on the night.
Dani Koljanin finished with six points and four rebounds for Little Rock.
Battling for four points in the Governor's I-40 Showdown, Little Rock and Central Arkansas battled point-for-point in the early going, combining for seven ties and four lead changes through the opening 14 minutes.
Tied 18-18, UCA opened up its largest lead of the half at 23-18, thanks in part to the Trojans connecting on just 37.5% of its shots to that point. Looking for a spark, Tucker hit a contested three which sparked a run for Little Rock, which knocked down four-straight three-point attempts to reclaim the lead at 30-27 with 2:40 to play.
The Bears answered with a 6-0 run of its own to lead 33-30 with under a minute to go before a lay-up from Johnson pulled the Trojans to within one at the half. Little Rock ended the first half shooting 40% from the floor but continued to be hampered at the free throw line, making just three of its eight attempts (37.5%).
UCA's shooting woes corrected themselves early in the second half as the Bears scored 15 of the first 17 points out of the locker room, breaking the game open at 48-34 with just over 14 minutes remaining.
Little Rock began to slowly chip away at the deficit, using an 8-3 run to get to within seven at 58-51 at the midway point of the second half. But a 9-0 Central Arkansas run pushed the Bears' lead to 16 at 67-51, putting the game out of reach.
Central Arkansas shot 50.9% from the floor and hit 10-of-20 three point attempts, outscoring the Trojans 45-33 in the second half. The victory ups the Bears' lead in the Governor's I-40 Showdown to a commanding 18.5 to 3.5, leaving UCA four points shy of clinching the inaugural rivalry series.
Little Rock hopes a return to the Jack Stephens Center will help return to its winning ways as the Trojans now begin a four-game home stand to open up the month of December. That stretch begins Saturday when Little Rock hosts Sam Houston State for Homecoming, tipping against the Bearkats at 3 p.m.
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