TULSA, Okla. – Little Rock overcame a slow start with a hot second half to run by Tulsa 71-57 Wednesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The win is the Trojans' second straight road victory after dropping two straight to start the six-game road swing.
Little Rock (3-2) trailed 25-20 at halftime, but they took the lead back early in the second half and after Tulsa took one final lead, the Trojans went on another run and led by as many as 17.
"[Coach Darrell Walker] just told us at halftime to be aggressive and keep boxing out and guard our tails off," Little Rock transfer guard Jonathan Lawson told the ESPN+ crew following the game.
Lawson, a Creighton transfer, led all scorers with 23 points. He also chipped in 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Isaiah Lewis scored 17 points and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Mwani Wilkinson added 16 points and 9 boards before fouling out in the second half. Ante Beljan, who missed a part of the game when he landed awkwardly on his ankle, scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
Sophomore Tyshaun Archie led TU with 15 points.
Little Rock began the second half with a 12-2 run and took a 32-27 lead with 16:39 to play in the game. The Trojans led by eight when freshman Caleb Pennyfeather slammed home a dunk at the 15:13 mark, but Tulsa responded and cut the margin to 41-40 on a three-pointer by Isaiah Barnes. Archie added another bucket moments later to give the Golden Hurricane a 43-42 lead and capped an 8-0 run.
The Trojans didn't panic, and when Wilkinson hit a jumper to give the Trojans a 43-32 lead with 9:43 to play, they never tailed again. Little Rock rattled off a 13-1 run that gave them a 53-43 advantage with 6:49 to play when Beljan hit two free throws. Beljan's layup with 3:46 left pushed the lead to 17.
Neither team shot very well in a low-scoring first half. Wilkinson hit a jumper to give Little Rock a 2-0 lead with 19:42 to play in the half, and the Trojans didn't lead again in the first half. The Golden Hurricane threatened twice to take control of the game leading by eight with 9:17 to play and nine with 2:52 remaining when Archie hit a three. However, Little Rock closed the half on a 6-2 run on threes by Lewis and Wilkinson to cut the lead to 25-20 at halftime.
Tulsa entered the game averaging more than 80 points in the first four games, including scoring more than 100 twice, but the Trojans stymied them Wednesday night holding them 36.7% shooting from the field for the game.
Little Rock, who played without an injured Creed Williamson, now travels to Fayetteville to play at No. 20 Arkansas Friday night. The November road trip ends next Monday at No. 25 Illinois.
