FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After trailing Arkansas by more than 23 points in the first half Friday night, Little Rock made a second-half charge but fell short in a 79-67 loss at Walton Arena.
The Trojans, who trailed 42-24 at halftime, cut the lead to 55-47 with 12:01 to play in the game. However, the Hogs eventually grew the lead to double digits and led by as many as 17. The Trojans did cut the margin back to seven with just over two minutes left but couldn't get closer.
"I think if we hadn't dug such a big hole for ourselves in the first half, it would have been a lot easier for us to stay in the game," Trojans senior forward Mwani Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson led Little Rock with 18 points and pulled down 5 rebounds despite heading to the locker room for a few minutes after landing awkwardly fighting for a rebound in the second half. Johnathan Lawson scored 15 points and snagged 12 rebounds and Isaiah Lewis added 13 points and 6 rebounds. Ante Beljan chipped in 10 points and 4 rebounds.
The Hogs' Adou Thiero led all scorers with 23 points. He also had 8 rebounds. Boogie Fland totaled 21 points and seven assists.
After struggling in the first half, Little Rock showed life midway through the second half. A 10-0 run powered by five points from Wilkinson made it a 51-43 game when Lewis canned a triple with 13:29 left. After the Razorbacks answered, Wilkinson hit two free throws to cut the lead back to eight. The Hogs tried to keep the Trojans at arm's length, but Lawson hit another three, and the lead was seven with 12:01 remaining. The Hogs' advantage was again trimmed to seven (58-51) with 10:17 left.
Arkansas pulled away when D.J. Wagner hit two three-pointers in a little over a minute stretch and Arkansas led 77-55 with 5:21 to play.
Lawson hit a three-pointer with 2:14 to go to get to within eight again, but the Razorbacks ended the game with four unanswered points.
"I thought this was a good basketball game," Little Rock head coach Darrell Walker said. "Our guys came out and competed hard in the second half and made it a very interesting basketball game."
Little Rock was short-handed as Creed Williamson missed his second straight game with a foot injury. The Trojans cap a six-game road swing at Illinois on Monday.
