LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock raced out to a commanding first half lead and held Bradley to just one field goal in the opening 14 minutes. But turnovers and free throw struggles once again haunted the Trojans as a second half surge from the Braves propelled Bradley to a 68-62 come-from-behind win at the Jack Stephens Center.
The loss drops the Trojans to 4-5 on the year and 3-2 at home with Bradley improving to 7-3 on the season.
Offensively, Little Rock put together another solid performance, shooting 51.1 percent for the game (24-of-47) while outplaying Bradley 36-22 in the paint. Defensively, the Trojans held the Braves to just 40 percent from the floor (22-of-55) and 36 percent from three-point range (9-of-25), limiting Bradley to just one field goal in its first 19 attempts.
But Trojan miscues is where the Braves found their way back into the game. Bradley forced Little Rock into 20 turnovers, leading to a 26-15 edge in points off turnovers. And once again, Little Rock's own miscues proved costly as the Trojans made just 10 of their 22 free throws (45.5%), marking the third game this season Little Rock shot worse than 50 percent from the charity stripe.
Kris Bankston and Nicola Maric both nearly tallied double-doubles on the night as they each finished with 11 points and eight and nine rebounds, respectively.
Jaizec Lottie added eight points with five assists with
Ryan Pippins contributing seven points on the night.
Facing the team that handed them their worst loss in two decades last season, the Trojans came out racing from the opening whistle. Little Rock registered the first 12 points of the game and held Bradley without a field goal until the 10:32 mark of the opening half.
The Braves continued to struggle from the floor, making just one of their first 20 shots. However, the Trojans were unable to pull away, committing 11 turnovers in the opening 15 minutes to allow the Braves to keep within striking distance.
As the first half came to a close, Little Rock's lead was just six at 27-21 with the Trojans shooting 47.8% from the floor (11-of-23), but making just 3-of-8 (37.5%) from the foul line. That, coupled with the 11 first half turnovers, made up the difference for Bradley shooting just 19.2% overall and 27.3% from the three-point arc.
What Bradley lacked from the floor early in the first half, it made up for in the second. The Braves outscored the Trojans 17-6 through the first five minutes, claiming their first lead of the game at 38-33 as Little Rock committed five more turnovers during that span.
Maric provided a spark, hitting a three and then pounding into the paint with a left-handed hook shot to tie the game at 38-38. Tucker then notched a steal and a transition lay-up, putting Little Rock back on top 40-38 with 12:48 remaining.
That set up a back-and-forth duel for the next seven minutes, culminating in the Trojans tying the game at 53-53 off a free throw from Wyatt with 5:59 remaining. But it was Bradley that made the final push, using a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to build a 65-53 lead and put the game away, rallying for the 68-62 victory.
Bradley was led by Darrell Brown, who scored all 18 of his points in the second half to lead the Brave comeback. Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye added 12 with Elijah Childs finishing with 11.
Little Rock now sets its sights on one of the most anticipated non-conference match-ups of the season, getting ready to welcome rival Central Arkansas to the Jack Stephens Center for the second game of the Governor's I-40 Showdown home-and-home series. Opening tip against the Bears is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, December 8.
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