LITTLE ROCK – It took 55 minutes, a career-high 27 points from freshman
D.J. Smith, a season-high in three pointers and every available player on the Trojan bench to contribute, but Little Rock held on for a thrilling 98-96 triple overtime win over UT Arlington Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
"This was a gutsy team win," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "We needed everyone that stepped on that court to make a key play, especially late, and they did. It never should have been that close as we gave away a big lead, but I give credit to our guys for battling to the end. This was a big win for us."
The three overtime game marks the longest game for Little Rock since the 116-114 four overtime thriller against Arkansas State in the Sun Belt tournament on March 14, 2014. It was the longest game for the Trojans at the Jack Stephens Center and the first overtime win since the 78-76 victory at Louisiana on January 9, 2021.
Six different Trojans finished in double figures as the Trojans made 16 three pointers on 31 attempts, knocking down 51.5%. It is the most three pointers made by Little Rock this season and one off the program record of 17, set against ULM on January 13, 2011.
Smith led Little Rock with a career-high 27 points, going 8-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, making six of his nine free throw attempts. Smith added four rebounds and a pair of assists as well, scoring the final eight Trojan points of the second overtime period and finishing with 13 total points beyond regulation.
Kevin Osawe added 15 points with five rebounds for Little Rock while
Isaiah Palermo finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
CJ White notched 11 points with a team-high seven assists while
Myron Gardner and
Jovan Stulic both contributed 10 points in the Little Rock win.
Jordan Jefferson had six points in limited action while
Terrell Curtis II had the five biggest points of his Trojan career, scoring five of Little Rock's 10 points in the third and final overtime period. It was a big win for the three local players on the Trojan roster as White, Smith and Curtis combined for 43 of Little Rock's 98 total points.
Little Rock's offense was clicking in the early going as the five different starters registered the first five baskets of the game, including four three pointers to build an early 17-5 lead at the 15:24 mark. White knocked a pair of threes during the run as Little Rock hit three of its first four three point attempts.
But the Trojan offense hit a cold spell, making just one basket over the next 10 minutes as UTA used a 14-3 run to pull to within one at 20-19 at the 6:31 mark. A three-pointer by Smith, followed by an and-one and threes from Stulic and White helped provide a spark as the Trojans put together a 9-0 run, pushing its lead to 32-21 with just under two minutes to play in the half.
Little Rock took a 35-26 lead into intermission, led by nine points each from Smith and White as all seven Trojans that took the court scored. The Trojans knocked down eight three in the first 20 minutes, shooting 53.3% from beyond the arc and 44.0% overall.
The three-point streak continued into the second half as four of Little Rock's first six baskets were from beyond the arc, scored by four different Trojans, as Little Rock maintained a double-digit lead through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Trojans led by as many as 17 on a pair of occasions, including at 52-35 off a three from Stulic with 12:05 remaining.
Little Rock led by 16 at 56-40 with 9:03 remaining, but UTA found its scoring touch and used a 29-10 run over an eight minute span, taking its first lead of the game at 69-66 off an and-one from David Azore with 1:11 remaining. Gardner hit a jumper in the paint with 45 seconds left, then a Little Rock stop gave the Trojans the ball back with a chance to win it. Gardner was fouled with two seconds left and made one of two, sending the game into overtime.
As was the case for all three of the overtime periods, Little Rock jumped out to an early lead in the first at 73-69, and lead it 75-71 with a minute to go, only to see Azore score four points in the final minute from the Mavericks to tie the game at 75-75 and force the second overtime period.
Little Rock built a five point lead with 37 seconds to go in the second overtime, thanks to a pair of threes from Smith and another from Palermo, as well as a pair of free throws from Smith. But the Mavericks once again rallied in the waning seconds, scoring five unanswered to tie the game at 86-86 as the Trojans shot at the buzzer was no good, sending the teams to the third overtime period.
The Trojans had just five players remaining for the final stanza as Gardner, Palermo, White and Jefferson had all fouled out of the game and Smith was playing with four fouls, meaning he, Osawe, Stulic, Curtis and
Admir Besovic would be the last five standing for Little Rock. Leading 88-87 off a Stulic basket, Curtis hit a three from the corner with 3:38 remaining, giving the Trojans the 91-87 lead.
The Mavericks pulled within two at 91-89 before a key tip out off an offensive rebound from Besovic landed in the arms of Curtis, who drove the baseline and got the runner off the glass to put the Trojans up 95-91. UTA got to within one possession two more times, trailing 96-95 before a pair of clutch free throws from Osawe with 10 seconds remaining put the Trojans on top 98-95.
Holding for the last shot Azore was able to draw a foul on a three point attempt, but missed the first attempt. After making the second, he intentionally missed and the ball went out of bounds last touched by Little Rock, giving UTA one last attempt for the tie. But the inbound tip in attempt was no good as the Trojans escaped with the thrilling victory.
The win was the seventh-straight for Little Rock against UTA at the Jack Stephens Center as the Trojans improve to 10-8 all-time against the Mavericks. Little Rock pulls even with a 2-2 mark in Sun Belt play, improving to 7-9 overall.
Little Rock now gets ready for a challenging stretch of its Sun Belt schedule, playing six of its next eight on the road. That run begins in the Carolinas, beginning with a meeting with Coastal Carolina on Thursday, January 27 in Conway, South Carolina.
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