LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Little Rock closed out its 11-day stay in Louisville with a hard-fought 80-75 loss to reigning Big South champion Winthrop at the KFC Yum! Center Thursday afternoon. The Trojans leave the bubble with a 2-2 mark, setting their sights on the home opener Sunday against Central Arkansas at the Jack Stephens Center.
Markquis Nowell,
Ruot Monyyong and
Nikola Maric each posted double-doubles on the afternoon but the Trojans couldn't overcome a sluggish second half start, one that saw Little Rock trail by 12 with 15 minutes remaining.
"While I'm not pleased with the result, I thought this tournament was a fantastic opportunity for us to learn and grow," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "We played four very good opponents and learned something different from each of them that will help us in Sun Belt play. We played hard in this one and never gave up, and we just need to overcome our tendency to turn the ball over. I'm excited to head home and play in front of a home crowd Sunday against Central Arkansas."
Game Notes
• Three Trojans registered double-doubles against the Eagles Thursday, led by a 25-point, 10-assist performance from
Markquis Nowell for his second-straight double-double in 39 minutes.
•
Nikola Maric added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Little Rock, going 9-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the line in 37 minutes of work.
Ruot Monyyong posted the 19th double-double of his Little Rock career as well, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
• The trio combined for 55 of Little Rock's 75 points with another 11 added by
Marko Lukic off the bench. Lukic finished with three rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
• As a team, Little Rock finished the game shooting an even 50% from the floor (29-of-58) and were a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line – marking the third time in program history the Trojans were perfect from the charity stripe with at least 10 attempts and the first since going 12-for-12 against Southern Arkansas in 2003.
• The Trojans once again struggled from the three-point arc, however, hitting just seven of 23 attempts (30.4%). Little Rock held a 38-27 edge in rebounding but Winthrop's play in the paint was a key factor, outscoring the Trojans 46-34.
• Winthrop committed just eight turnovers in the game while forcing 17 on Little Rock, leading to a 20-5 point edge for the Eagles.
First Half Notes
• After spotting Winthrop a 5-0 lead early, Little Rock rattled off 10-straight to take a 10-5 lead with just under four minutes gone, thanks in part to five points from Nowell. That run was quickly matched by an 8-0 tilt from Winthrop as the Eagles took the 13-10 lead at the first media timeout.
• Winthrop's run reached 12-0, pushing its lead to seven at 17-10. A pair of Trojan turnovers aided the Eagle run even further as a 17-4 Winthrop run extended the Little Rock deficit to eight at 22-14 at the 11:14 mark. The Trojans went scoreless for nearly four minutes, aiding the Eagle run.
• Little Rock began to chip away at the Eagle lead over the ensuing three minutes, pulling to within four at 26-22 following a pair of free throws from Monyyong. A 7-0 run later in the half, sparked by five points from Nowell, brought the Trojans all the way back, reclaiming the lead at 36-35 off a three at the 3:34 mark.
• The Trojans and Eagles went back and forth over the final three minutes as Winthrop took a 42-40 lead into the half. Both teams shot 52% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes as the Trojans were a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Nowell paced the Trojans with 12 points and six assists in the opening half while pulling down a pair of rebounds. Lukic added seven points while Maric (six points, five rebounds) and Monyyong (six points, four rebounds) helped control the paint.
Second Half Notes
• Winthrop continued its hot shooting in the second half, using a 14-4 run over the opening five minutes to jump on top 56-44, its largest lead of the game. Little Rock began to respond from the slow start, using a 7-2 stretch of its own to pull to within seven at 58-51 behind a pair of jumpers from Maric and a three from Nowell.
• Little Rock and Winthrop exchanged baskets as the front section of the second half wore down with the Trojans trailing 69-61 with 7:25 remaining. A rebound from Monyyong off an Eagle jumper gave him 10 points and 10 rebounds in the game for the 19th double-double of his Little Rock career.
• The Trojans were able to pull to within six three times in the closing minutes, the last of which came at the 2:35 mark off a jumper from Lukic to trim the Winthrop lead to 73-67. Trailing 75-67, a three from Nowell got the Trojans to within five at 75-70, then another three with 24 seconds remaining pulled Little Rock to within four at 77-73. But the early run from Winthrop proved too much to overcome as the Trojans fell 80-75.
• Little Rock shot 48.3% from the floor in the second half as Maric and Nowell combined for 27 of the Trojans' 35 points. Monyyong grabbed eight rebounds over the final 20 minutes as Maric pulled down six boards of his own.
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