LITTLE ROCK – Admir Besovic finished with a career-high 14 points to help Little Rock pull within four with four minutes to go in the second half, but a late Coastal Carolina run put the game away as the Chanticleers defeated the Trojans 68-55 at the Jack Stephens Center.
The loss closes out the regular season for Little Rock, who finishes the year at 8-18 overall and 3-11 in Sun Belt play, clinching the number 12 seed in the Sun Belt tournament next week in Pensacola. The Trojans will play fifth-seeded South Alabama Thursday, March 3 at 2 p.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center.
Besovic's career high came on 6-of-7 shooting in 28 minutes while also going 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Besovic added five rebounds with a block in his final game at the Jack Stephens Center.
Jovan Stulic was the only other Trojan to finish in double figures, scoring 11 points off the bench and going 4-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-4 from three point range, adding three rebounds.
Myron Gardner finished with nine points and five rebounds while
Isaiah Palermo and
CJ White both added five points for the Trojans.
Little Rock shot 38.8% from the floor, connecting on 19-of-49 shots, while going 6-of-20 from three point range. The Trojans had an uncharacteristic night at the free throw line, making just 11-of-20.
Coastal Carolina was 42.1% from the floor and 37.5% from three point range, holding a 36-34 rebounding edge for the game. But the Chanticleers forced 18 Little Rock turnovers, resulting in a 20-8 edge and a 20-3 mark in fast break points to pull away.
The Chanticleers took control early in the first half, using a 15-3 run to turn an 8-7 lead into a 23-10 cushion at the 7:29 mark. Coastal Carolina would lead by as many as 14 at 27-13 before Little Rock sparked a 10-0 run late in the half behind four points from White and three each from Stulic and
Nikola Maric, getting to within four at 27-23 with 2:12 to go.
Coastal outscored Little Rock 6-2 down the stretch, taking a 33-25 lead into halftime behind 46.2% shooting from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Trojans shot just 32.0%, led by six points from Stulic.
Little Rock had the edge to begin the second half, outscoring Coastal Carolina 11-3 over the first five minutes to pull even at 36-36 behind back-to-back baskets from Stulic and a three from
Jordan Jefferson, who finished with four points and a career-high nine rebounds.
An and-one from Gardner at the 14:34 mark put the Trojans on top 39-38, but the lead was short-lived as the Chanticleers used an 8-0 run to pull out in front by seven at 46-39 over the ensuing three and a half minutes.
Little Rock was able to get the deficit to four on five separate occasions in the second half, thanks to eight points from Besovic. Jefferson made one of two free throws with 4:05 to play to get Little Rock to within four one more time a 55-51.
But three straight turnovers by Little Rock fueled the final charge for the Chanticleers, who used another 8-0 run to break the game open at 63-51 before coasting to the 68-55 victory.
Coastal Carolina had three players finish in double figures, led by 21 from Vince Cole and 15 from Edrima Dibba, who added six rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
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