LITTLE ROCK – Struggles from both the floor and the free throw line kept Little Rock's offense at bay in a 66-61 loss to Louisiana Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
The loss was the seventh-straight for Little Rock as the Trojans fell to 10-14 on the year and 6-11 in Sun Belt play, assuring no higher than the number five seed in the West in next week's Sun Belt tournament in Pensacola.
Game Notes
• Little Rock shot a season-low 32.7% from the floor, making just 18 of its 55 attempts, while going 4-of-12 (33.3%) from the free throw line. After starting the game 8-of-12 from the free throw line in the first half, Little Rock was 13-of-22 over the final 20 minutes, finishing the game 13-for-22 (59.1%).
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Ben Coupet Jr. led all scorers with 18 points, going 4-of-9 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, adding four rebounds and a steal.
•
Nikola Maric finished with 14 points and four rebounds while
Marko Lukic registered 11 points with three boards. The duo combined to go 8-for-24 from the floor and 7-of-15 from the free throw line.
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Ruot Monyyong registered his 30th career double-double, and 14th of the season, finishing with 10 points and tying a career-high with 19 rebounds with a block and a steal.
• The rest of the Trojan team combined for just eight points, six of which came from
CJ White and two from
Admir Besovic . White finished with five rebounds to rank second on the Trojan squad.
First Half Notes
• Little Rock found the offensive spark early in the game, using a 7-0 run to build a 7-2 lead as five different Trojans scored in the opening four minutes. After Louisiana pulled to within, a three pointer from Coupet pushed Little Rock's lead to five at 12-7 at the 13:03 mark.
• Shooting woes then struck the Trojans, who made just one of their next 14 shots, watching as Louisiana built a four point lead at 16-12 with 7:28 remaining in the opening half. Free throws kept Little Rock in the game, knocking down seven of their last eight of the opening half.
• The shooting slump also struck the Ragin' Cajuns as Louisiana made just two shots over the final seven minutes. The production from the free throw line allowed Little Rock to take a 23-20 lead into the half.
• The two teams combined to make just 15 shots in the opening half with Little Rock knocking down 28.0% of its shots, compared to 26.7% for Louisiana, including just 1-of-6 (16.7%) from three point range. Coupet paced all scorers with nine points in the first half, complemented by six for Maric, while Monyyong added nine rebounds.
Second Half Notes
• After exchanging baskets to begin the second half, Louisiana strung together a 9-2 run, turning the three point deficit into a four point advantage at 31-27 at the 16:28 mark. A Lukic three cut the Louisiana lead to one at 31-30 with 16:00 remaining.
• Following the three from Lukic, Louisiana rattled off a 12-3 run, building a game-high 10 point lead at 43-33 with 11:10 remaining. The Trojans continued to struggle from the floor, but used the charity stripe to pull to within five at 43-38. Following a Ragin' Cajun basket, Maric converted on a tough basket in the lane, getting Little Rock to within four at 44-40 with 9:28 remaining.
• Down the home stretch, however, Louisiana was able to knock down the key shots and Little Rock struggled both from the floor and the free throw line, making just two out of four free throws and just two baskets, watching the Ragin' Cajuns extend their lead to as many 13 aty 60-47 with 2:38 remaining.
• Little Rock mounted one last comeback attempt, trimming the deficit to five, but the hole was too large to overcome in the waning minutes. The Trojans shot just 36.7% from the floor in the second half, but made just 13 of 22 free throws in the second half, keeping the comeback attempt at bay.
Up Next
• Little Rock closes out the 2020-21 regular season Saturday afternoon, hosting Louisiana at 4 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center. Saturday's game will be Senior Day as the Trojans will honor
Sydney Agudah,
Admir Besovic,
Ben Coupet Jr. and
Ruot Monyyong in pregame festivities.
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