Trojans Hang Tough With 10th-Ranked Razorbacks Before Falling 93-78

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Little Rock gave 10th-ranked Arkansas a battle in the first-ever meeting between the two teams before falling 93-78 at Bud Walton Arena Saturday afternoon.
 
Little Rock was paced by a pair of career-best performances against the Razorbacks as Marko Lukic set a new career-high with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 13 in the second half, adding five rebounds and going 4-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
Isaiah Palermo also tallied his first career double-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds with six assists as he continues to pace the Trojans in scoring, registering his fourth double-digit point total on the season.
 
The duo was two of four Trojans to finish in double figures on the afternoon, joined by Marko Andric's 12 points and six assists off the bench with Kevin Osawe scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds in his first career start.
 
Playing with a limited roster once again, all seven of Little Rock's players that stepped on the floor scored at least four points, including seven from Admir Besovic, five from D.J. Smith and four from Jovan Stulic. Palermo and Andric led the team with six assists each while Smith had a team-high two steals.
 
Little Rock finished the game shooting 48.2% and 38.1% from three point range, responding from a cold shooting spell near the end of the first half. The Trojans matched the Razorbacks in rebounding at 31-31 but were done in once again by turnovers, committing 14 on the day that led to a 23-12 edge for the Razorbacks.  Arkansas also held the advantage in points in the paint (48-26) as well as fast break points (21-5).
 
Once again playing shorthanded, Little Rock was able to respond to Arkansas' offensive attack, keeping the game close within the first 15 minutes of the first half. The Razorbacks would lead by as many as eight on three separate occasions, each of which was answered by a Trojan run to get the deficit down to four.
 
Trailing 28-24, Little Rock conceded a 6-0 run to Arkansas as the Razorbacks led by 10 at 34-24, which was answered with back-to-back jumpers from Palermo and a pair of free throws from Lukic, pulling to within four once again at 34-30 at the 4:24 mark.
 
But Arkansas closed out the opening half with a 15-4 run over the final 4:24, pushing the halftime advantage to 49-34. The Trojans shot 40.6% in the opening 20 minutes while the Razorbacks answered by hitting 61.3% of its attempts.
 
Three point shooting again was Little Rock's Achilles heel as after Osawe made his first attempt of the game, the Trojans missed their next 10 to close out the opening half for 9.1%. The Razorbacks also dominated in the paint, outscoring Little Rock 28-14 in the first half.
 
Arkansas pushed its lead to 17 early in the second half, building a 55-38 lead with 17:32 remaining, but it was Little Rock that dug in and responded. The Trojans outscored the Razorbacks 14-2 over the next two and half minutes, including back-to-back threes from Lukic, trimming the deficit to five at 57-52 with 15:03 remaining.
 
Similar to the pattern in the first half, Arkansas would extend, only to see Little Rock respond over the next eight minutes. The Razorbacks would lead by as many as 13 at 73-60 with 9:40 to go, only to see the Trojans get to within seven at 74-67 two minutes later.
 
But the depth and size of Arkansas would ultimately wear down the Trojans over the final seven minutes, taking advantage of Little Rock miscues and knocking down free throws to pull away for the 93-78 victory.
 
Little Rock found its scoring touch in the second half, making 58.2% of its shots from the floor and going 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, led by 13 points from Lukic and 10 from Andric as the duo combined to go 5-for-7 from three. Palermo also added nine points and seven boards to pace him to his double-double.
 
For the game, Arkansas shot 56.7%, led by 18 points from both JD Notae and AuDiese Toney and 16 from Davonte Davis. Chris Lykes also added 14 points off the bench for the Razorbacks which hit 19 of their 26 free throws (73.1%), compared to 16-of-23 (69.6%) for the Trojans.
 
The game in Fayetteville concludes the extended road trip for Little Rock, which played six games in five states and four time zones over the last two weeks. The Trojans will now get to enjoy some home cooking for the next month, playing five of the next six at the Jack Stephens Center. That stretch does begin with another tough showdown Wednesday night, facing Missouri State in a 6:30 p.m. tip.
 
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