TROY, Ala. – Troy built a commanding first half lead and kept Little Rock at bay in the second half, handing Little Rock an 82-64 defeat in the Battle of Trojans Saturday at Trojan Arena. The loss pushes Little Rock's winless streak to eight games, falling to 5-21 on the year and 2-11 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Little Rock shot 40.7 percent from the floor (22-of-54) and struggled once again from three-point range, hitting just three of its 20 attempts (15.0%). The Trojans were efficient from the line, however, making 17 of 23 attempts (73.9%).
Jaizec Lottie and
K.J. Gilmore both posted career-bests on the afternoon for Little Rock as Lottie finished with a career-high 17 points, including going 11-of-14 from the free throw line, both of which are season-highs for the Trojans.
Gilmore also set a new career-best, finishing with 10 points off the bench for the Trojans on 5-of-6 shooting. The duo was two of the 10 different Trojans that scored on the afternoon, followed by nine points for
Cameron Corcoran and seven for
Camron Reedus.
Ryan Pippins,
Oliver Black and
Kris Bankston each finished with five points for Little Rock as Black was the Trojans' top rebounder with nine, but Little Rock was outrebounded 41-27 against Troy, being outscored 48-30 in the paint.
It was another quick start for Little Rock as the Trojans built a 16-10 lead at the 11:43 mark, paced by six points from Lottie. But Troy then commenced what would be a half of runs, using an 18-4 run over the next four minutes, taking a 28-20 lead with seven and a half minutes remaining.
Little Rock fought back, however, scoring the game's next eight points and pulling even with Troy at 28-28 with five minutes remaining in the opening half. Momentum then swung back in favor of the home Trojans who closed the half on a 16-4 run, leading 44-32 at the intermission.
Little Rock ended the first half without a field goal for the final 5:22, going 11-of-28 from the floor and just 2-of-12 from three-point range.
With momentum on its side, Troy put the game away early in the second half, scoring 14 of the first 19 to build a 58-37 lead with just over 16 minutes remaining. Troy maintained a double digit lead for the entire second half, cruising to the 82-64 victory, earning its third-straight win in the series.
For Troy, Jordon Varnado posted 23 points and 13 rebounds as the home Trojans shoot 51.6 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.
The loss is the eighth-straight for the Trojans, tying its longest winless streak since an eight-game skid in the 2009-10 season. Little Rock is now 0-13 on the road this season, extending its road losing streak to 14 games.
Little Rock closes out its three-game road swing next Saturday with the renewal of the rivalry series, heading up US 67 to Jonesboro for the showdown with Arkansas State. Opening tip against the Red Wolves is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 17.
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