LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock rallied from a Southwestern Baptist offensive surge at the end of the first half, outscoring the Bearcats 19-2 over the final five and a half minutes to notch the 77-59 victory in the home opener.
"We reverted back to our old habits in the first half this year, which was concerning," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "At halftime I challenged them to hold (the Bearcats) under 65, and they responded much better defensively in the second half. At the end of the day, we're 2-1, and we'll learn from this and get ready for Central Arkansas Sunday."
Game Notes
• The game was marked by a pair of lengthy runs to close out each half. Southwest Baptist used a 21-2 run to end the opening half, which was countered by a 19-2 Little Rock run to close out the game and put the game out of reach.
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Markquis Nowell once again led the Trojans with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 2-for-7 from three-point range. He knocked down all six of his free throw attempts while tying a career high with five steals. Nowell added five rebounds as well in the victory.
• Five Trojans finished in double figures on the evening, the highest number this season. Following the 20 from Nowell,
Ben Coupet Jr. added 18 points with seven rebounds,
Kris Bankston finished with 13 points and
Ruot Monyyong and
Jaizec Lottie each added 10 points.
• Bankston finished with four dunks on the game, all of which came in the opening half. He upped his career total to 92 and made six of his seven field goal attempts.
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Kamani Johnson tied his career high with 12 rebounds against the Bearcats, adding three points and three assists coming off the bench. Five of his boards came on the offensive end as Little Rock dominated in second chance points, 22-3.
• Monyyong and Coupet came up just short of double-doubles, finishing with eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
• Little Rock dominated on the boards, outrebounding Southwest Baptist 44-23. The Trojans had 17 offensive rebounds, compared to just three for the Bearcats, helping lead to that 22-3 second chance disparity.
• For the game, Little Rock shot 46.8 percent from the floor and was 66.7% from the free throw line. Three point shooting continues to plague the Trojans who made just three of their 16 attempts (18.8%).
• The Trojans held a significant advantage in points in the paint, outscoring the Bearcats 44-20. Little Rock also took advantage of odd man situations, holding a 15-4 edge in fast break points.
First Half Notes
• Little Rock dominated the paint in the early going with
Kris Bankston registering a pair of dunks and another from
Ruot Monyyong in the opening three minutes, helping the Trojans build a 13-6 lead at the first media timeout.
• Bankston's fourth dunk of the first half helped the Trojans build a nine point lead at 18-9 at the 14:49 mark. After Southwest Baptist pulled to within five, Little Rock extended the advantage back to nine at 25-16 at the midway point of the first half.
• Trojans built a 14-point advantage off a layup from
Jaizec Lottie at 30-16 as seven different Trojans scored in the first nine minutes of the game. Southwest Baptist then used an 18-0 run to take the lead at 34-30, holding the Trojans scoreless for nearly six minutes.
• Little Rock was held to one basket over the final 7:40 as the Bearcats closed out the half on a 21-2 run to close out the half.
• The Trojans shot 45.2% for the first half, but were just 1-for-8 from three-point range. That was contrasted by Southwest Baptist's 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to spark the run.
Second Half Notes
• Southwest Baptist's run extended to 29-7 early in the second half, building its largest lead of the game at 45-37 with 16:25 remaining. Three of Little Rock's five points to start the second half came courtesy of
Jovan Stulic, his first points in a Trojan uniform.
• Trailing 49-42, Little Rock used a 7-0 run to draw even at 49-49 with 10:28 remaining behind a driving layup from
Jaizec Lottie and free throws from
Ruot Monyyong and
Kamani Johnson.
• Facing a 52-49 deficit,
Markquis Nowell converted five-straight points for the Trojans, hitting a three from the top of the key and then converting a pair of free throws to put Little Rock back on top at 54-52 with 8:24 remaining. Monyyong then added a layup to extend the Little Rock run to 7-0 and a 56-52 advantage.
• After Southwest Baptist pulled to within one at 58-57, the Trojans put together another 7-0 run, sparked by a pair of steals from
Markquis Nowell, gaining some breathing room at 65-57. The Trojans closed out the game outscoring the Bearcats 19-2 over the final 5:31 to secure the victory.
• The Trojans outscored the Bearcats 45-22 in the second half, holding Southwest Baptist to 36.0% shooting from the floor.
Up Next
Little Rock begins a three game road trip this weekend, making the short trip up to Conway for this year's installment of the Governor's I-40 Showdown. The Trojans take on Central Arkansas Sunday at the Farris Center, tipping at 2 p.m.
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