LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock once again built itself a double-digit first half lead, only to see it dwindle in the second half, falling to Georgia Southern 67-61 Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center. The loss drops Little Rock to 5-18 on the year and 2-8 in Sun Belt Conference play.
On paper, Little Rock did what it felt it needed to do to get the victory against the Eagles. The Trojans made more shots (24 to 20) and shot better from the floor (48.0% to 43.5%) while holding Georgia Southern to just 4-of-19 (21.1%) shooting from three-point range.
But two big statistics turned the tide in favor of Georgia Southern. The Eagles forced 17 Trojan turnovers, leading to a 19-5 advantage in points off those giveaways, and they made 23-of-29 free throw attempts (79.3%), compared to just 8-of-19 (42.1%) for Little Rock.
Little Rock once again was led by
Andre Jones, who finished the night with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists, including scoring 12-straight points late in the second half to keep the Trojans in the game.
Camron Reedus joined Jones in the double-digit club, finishing with 11 points, while
Oliver Black added nine points with five rebounds and a pair of assists.
In all, 10 different Trojans scored on the night, including six points from
Ben Marcus on 3-of-3 shooting with four rebounds.
Jaizec Lottie and
Kris Bankston each finished with four points with Lottie dishing out a career-high seven assists.
Ryan Pippins scored just one point but finished with a career-best six rebounds as well for Little Rock.
The first 20 minutes turned into a defensive struggle as both teams went long stretches without registering a basket. Little Rock took advantage of a nearly five-minute scoring drought by Georgia Southern midway through the opening half, building a 12-point lead at 20-8.
Little Rock maintained a double-digit lead at 28-18 with just under two minutes remaining in the half, but 6-2 run by Georgia Southern closed the deficit to six at the break at 30-24. Little Rock shot 48 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but was just 4-of-9 from the free throw line (44.4%) while committing 10 turnovers to allow the Eagles to remain close.
Georgia Southern found its shooting touch early in the second half, using a 15-5 run that included five-straight made field goals to take the lead at 44-39 with 11:27 remaining. The Trojans kept it within two possessions for the next six minutes, but the Eagles extended their lead to nine at 57-48 with just over two minutes remaining, taking advantage of some Little Rock miscues.
The Trojans mounted one last comeback, led by Jones scoring 12-straight points for Little Rock and helping pull the Trojans to within five at 59-54 with 1:26 remaining. But the deficit proved to be too large as the Eagles converted some key free throws down the stretch, sweeping the season series with the 67-61 win.
Three Eagles finished in double figures, led by 19 points for Tookie Brown, who went 8-for-8 from the free throw line for Georgia Southern. Mike Hughes added 14 points with Quan Jackson posting 10 points on the evening.
Little Rock continues its home weekend Saturday, facing Georgia State at the Jack Stephens Center. The Panthers have won eight games in a row, including a 77-66 victory over Arkansas State in Jonesboro, and sit second in the Sun Belt standings. Opening tip against the Panthers is scheduled for approximately 5:15 p.m.
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