LITTLE ROCK – A 23-0 run in the first half broke the game open for Little Rock, who cruised to a 78-50 win over Champion Christian Friday evening at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans improve to 4-2 on the year and remain perfect at home.
"It was a good win for our guys in that a lot of our players were able to see playing time and contribute," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "There were some things we did well. I liked how we took care of the ball, but again the defensive effort wasn't up to where I wanted it to be. We'll have some things to improve on as we get set to face a very good Missouri State team Monday."
Game Notes
• 11 different Trojans registered points in the game as Little rock shot 53.2 percent from the floor.
Markquis Nowell had another solid outing for the Trojans, posting his fourth-straight double-double with a team-high 17 points and 10 assists, complemented by five steals and four rebounds in 26 minutes of work.
• Little Rock native
CJ White made quite an impression in his Trojan debut, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including going 3-for-3 from three-point range. White, who was granted eligibility by the NCAA Wednesday, played 20 mintutes and added three rebounds.
•
Kris Bankston and
Yacine Toumi each added seven points off the bench for Little Rock and were a combined 6-for-6 from the floor.
Admir Besovic also added six points going 3-or-3 as well as the trio combined for seven rebounds.
•
Isaiah Palermo added six points with five assists and five rebounds for Little Rock with
Ruot Monyyong adding five points, six rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes of action.
Nikola Maric matched Monyyong with six boards while adding three points.
• Little Rock dominated in the paint, outrebounding Champion Christian 39-29 while holding a 52-26 edge in points in the paint. The Trojans outscored the Tigers 17-0 on the fast break, 13-4 on second chance points and 42-9 in bench scoring.
• While shooting efficient inside, the Trojans struggled both from three-point range and from the line. Little Rock was just 7-of-23 from the arc (30.4%) and connected on just five of 13 free throw attempts (38.5%).
• The Trojans finished with eight dunks on the night with Monyyong, Bankston and Palermo each throwing down a pair.
First Half Notes
• Little Rock struggled from the floor to start the game, connecting on just two of its first seven shots from the floor. The cold shooting allowed Champion Christian to take the early 6-4 lead at the first media timeout.
• The Trojans then found their spark, using a 23-0 run over the ensuing eight and a half minutes, turning that 6-4 deficit into a 27-6 lead a the 6:51 mark. Eight different Trojans registered points during that surge.
• Over the final seven minutes of the first half, Little Rock outscored Champion Christian 14-13, leading by as many as 24 at 41-17 before a layup at the buzzer by the Tigers cut the halftime lead to 41-19.
• Little Rock shot 51.4% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes as Palermo and Toumi's six points paced the Trojans in the first half. Nowell added five points and seven assists with three steals.
• It was a balanced scoring effort for Little Rock with 11 players finding their way onto the score sheet and only three (Nowell – 16, Palermo – 12, Besovic – 12) playing more than 10 minutes.
Second Half Notes
• After a three pointer by the Tigers to open the second half, Little Rock put together another solid run to all but put the game away. The Trojans outscored Champion Christian 14-2 over a six minute span, upping its lead to 31 at 55-24 off a dunk from Coupet.
• Little Rock's lead reached as many as 32 at 65-33 off a three pointer from White with 8:16 remaining in the game. The two teams went back and forth over the final eight minutes as the Tigers outscored the Trojans 17-13 down the stretch to narrow the final margin of victory to 78-50.
• Nowell scored 12 of his 17 in the second half while adding three more assists and pair of steals. White posted nine points in 15 minutes of work, going 3-for-4 from the floor as Little Rock shot 56.0% (14-25) over the final 20 minutes.
• After committing just two turnovers in the first half, Little Rock added six in the second half to finish with eight for the game, well below its previous season-low of 15 against Central Arkansas.
Up Next
• Little Rock closes out the non-conference portion of its 2020-21 schedule Monday night in Springfield, Missouri, taking on Missouri State. Opening tip against the Bears is set for 7 p.m. from JQH Arena, streaming live on ESPN3.
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