The Little Rock men's basketball team used a balanced scoring effort Thursday to secure an 88-80 conference win over SIUE at the Jack Stephens Center. Four players scored at least 14 points as the Trojans (8-8, 2-1 OVC) got back in the win column following a split of their first pair of conference contests.
KK Robinson registered a triple-double with 18 points, a career-high 12 assists, and 10 rebounds while adding a pair of steals to lead the way.
DeAntoni Gordon had a team-high 19 points with five rebounds before fouling out,
Jamir Chaplin had 18 points and five assists on a very efficient 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, and
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks.
The Trojans finished the night shooting a blistering 57.6 percent from the field (34-of-59), including 7-of-14 from long distance, and converted 13-of-21 from the foul line. Little Rock outscored SIUE by 16 inside the paint and had a 26-8 advantage in points scored on fast breaks.
Little Rock led by as many as 19 with 12:25 to play in the game and trailed for only 51 seconds. The 24 assists for the team are the highest single-game total this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 22, which happened twice vs Northern Illinois and Ball State. The Trojans' 19-point lead is the second-highest lead by the team this season.
SIUE (8-8, 1-2 OVC) shot 44.8 percent from the floor (30-of-67) and made just 9-of-28 from three-point distance (32.1 percent). Ray'Sean Taylor scored 19, Shamar Wright had 17 and Desmond Polk tossed in 15 to lead the Cougars' scoring effort. SIUE was hurt by a poor-shooting first half during which it made just 12-of-231 shots (38.7 percent).
The Trojans stay home for their next contest on Saturday against Eastern Illinois (7-8, 1-1 OVC). The game is scheduled for 3 pm from the Jack Stephens Center.
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