FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Little Rock hit the court against someone other than itself Sunday afternoon as part of a charity exhibition, falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks 79-64 at Bud Walton Arena.
"It was good to be able to play this game and we learned some thing about our team this afternoon," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "There were some good things, but you can't make 13 of 30 free throws and turn the ball over 22 times and expect to win, especially on the road. But those are things we can work on, and we'll learn from today as we head into the regular season."
Game Notes
• Shooting woes plagued the Trojans in its first ever visit to Bud Walton Arena as Little Rock connected on just 33.3 percent in the first half, making three of 15 three point attempts and shooting 43.3 percent from the free throw line.
• Individually,
Kamani Johnson paced Little Rock with a double-double, scoring 13 points and adding 11 rebounds while going 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
Nikola Maric was Little Rock's leading scorer with 14 points, adding nine rebounds of his own.
•
Jaizec Lottie was the Trojans' most efficient player from the floor, making four of his five field goal attempts and finishing with nine points and three assists.
• Nine different Trojans registered points against the Razorbacks, including nine from
Markquis Nowell, seven from
Ruot Monyyong and six from
Alsean Evans.
• Arkansas attempted 35 three pointers on the afternoon, led by 8-of-17 from Isaiah Joe who led all scorers with 25 points.
• The announced attendance was 7,384 with proceeds from today's game benefitting victims of the Arkansas River flooding earlier this spring.
First Half Notes
• Kris Bankston started the game with a dunk, giving the Trojans the 2-0 lead early and earning the distinction as the player to score the first points on the newly rededicated Nolan Richardson Court in Fayetteville.
• Arkansas went on a 19-1 run, taking a 19-3 lead early on, before back-to-back baskets by both
Markquis Nowell and
Jaizec Lottie sparked an 8-0 run to get the Trojans to within eight at 19-11.
• Little Rock was able to get to within five at 26-21 off a three from Lottie with just over five minutes remaining in the opening half.
• The Trojans shot just 5-of-16 from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes, helping the Razorbacks build a 35-26 halftime advantage. The Trojans were 10-of-30 from the floor (33.3%) and just 1-of-8 from three in the first half.
Second Half Notes
• Arkansas rattled off the first 10 points of the second half, extending its lead to 45-26 and forcing a Trojan timeout.
• After trailing by as many as 26, Little Rock pulled to within 14 at 65-51, aided by five-straight points from
Ruot Monyyong and a pair of jumpers from
Nikola Maric.
• A late run got Little Rock to within 13 at 75-62 with just under three minutes remaining as
Kamani Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to give him a double-double.
• Little Rock shot 53.8% from the floor in the second half and was better from the charity stripe, connecting on eight of 14 attempts.
Up Next
Little Rock opens the 2019-20 regular season with a pair of tough road contests, beginning Tuesday, November 5 in Springfield, Missouri against Missouri State. Opening tip against the Bears is set for 7 p.m.
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