JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Once again, Little Rock found itself in a big first half deficit it was unable to overcome, falling to Sam Houston 77-59 at UNF Arena in the opening round of the Jacksonville Classic by Fabletics.
Little Rock falls to 3-2 on the year, dropping its second-straight away from the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans will face Northern Illinois in the consolation game of the Jax Bracket tomorrow morning, tipping at 10 a.m. CT.
The Trojans were led by three players in double figures, including a 16-point performance by
Nikola Maric with four rebounds.
Jovan Stulic added 13 points for Little Rock, going 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-5 from three, with
Marko Lukic adding 10 points off the bench.
Isaiah Palermo finished with seven points in his return to Florida , adding three rebounds, with
Kevin Osawe adding five points and five boards.
As a team, Little Rock shot just 35.3% for the game, including 22.2% from three point range, knocking down just four of 18 attempts. The Trojans were efficient from the free throw line, going 19-of-26 (73.1%), led by Lukic's 5-for-6 outing.
Little Rock was outrebounded 43-37, including a 17-9 edge in offensive boards which led to a 17-5 advantage for Sam Houston in second chance points. The Trojans committed 15 turnovers while forcing just nine for the Bearkats and never led in the game, tying the game once at 5-5 in the early going.
Similar to Wednesday night's game in Los Angeles, the Trojans struggled from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Little Rock hit just three of its first 15 attempts, allowing Sam Houston to build a 12-point advantage at the midway point at 20-8.
The Bearkats continued to push their advantage, extending it to 15 at the break as the Trojans trailed 36-21. Little Rock closed the first half 7-of-26 (26.9%) from the floor and just 2-of-9 (22.2%) from three point range, led by seven points from Maric and six from Stulic.
Sam Houston continued its offensive surge in the second half, extending its lead to as many as 29 at 62-33 at the midway point of the second half. Little Rock would try to chip into the lead over the final 10 minutes, getting to within 20 at 67-47 with 5:45 remaining off a jumper from Palermo.
Little Rock would get under 20 off a three pointer from Stulic at the 3:38 mark, followed by a layup one minute later, trimming the deficit to 72-55. But the early deficit was more than the Trojans could overcome, falling to the Bearkats and evening the all-time series at 4-4.
For the game, Sam Houston put up 72 shots, compared to just 51 for the Trojans, including 35 from beyond the three-point arc. The Bearkats made 40.3% of their shots and 37.1% from three with three players in double figures, led by 17 from Savion Flagg.
Opening tip of the consolation game Monday morning will be at 10 a.m. CT between the Trojans and Huskies from UNF Arena in Jacksonville.
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