Box Score LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock Men's Basketball took advantage in their home season opener, posting a final score win of 84-64 over NAIA Arkansas Baptist Monday night at the Jack Stephens Center in the season opener. Graduate transfer
Mwani Wilkinson lead the Trojans in several areas, backed by returning senior
Jordan Jefferson and transfer
Johnathan Lawson, shooting a combined 47% from beyond the arc.
"These next two practices on Wednesday and Thursday are going to be gut-check practices, because we have to get ready for Winthrop," Trojans head coach Darrell Walker told the media following the win Monday night. "We have to play better. We have to rebound better."
"I like this basketball team, but there are some things I don't like right now. I think we are a little soft right now, and we have to get tougher. We have to rebound. I have told you before, most of my teams score points, but my concern now is they need to take my identity on the defensive side of the ball as far as guarding people off the dribble. Right now, it's not there with six road games coming up."
LSU transfer Mwani Wilkinson scored a team-high 21 points for Little Rock. He also pulled down nine rebounds. Ante Beljan and Jordan Jefferson chipped in 15 points apiece for the Trojans, and Johnathan Lawson, who grabbed six rebounds, and Isaiah Lewis each chipped in 11.
The Buffaloes' Ryan Gordan led all scorers with 25 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds.
Little Rock led Arkansas Baptist, who also hails from the capital city, 48-28 at halftime. The Buffaloes trimmed the lead to 11 with 12:18 to play in the game, but Ante Beljan's conventional three-point play pushed the Trojans' lead to 62-47 with 11:30 left in regulation.
Beljan's bucket with 10:20 to go gave the Trojans a 17-point advantage, 66-49.
However, the Buffaloes outscored Little Rock 10-5 the next five minutes to get the lead back to 12 on Gordan's two made free-throws. The Trojans led 71-59 with 5:56 to play.
However, Little Rock rattled off a 9-0 run capped by two free-throws by Tuongthach Gatkek to notch a commanding 80-59 lead with 3:10 left. Little Rock led by as many as 23 points late in the game.
The Trojans now take on a six-game road stretch that includes Winthrop, UTSA, Tulsa, Arkansas, Illinois, and former Sunbelt rival Arkansas State. Little Rock returns home to the captial city on Nov. 27 to host Maryland Eastern Shore. The Trojans play at 11 a.m. Saturday at Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C.
For the latest information on Little Rock Basketball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockMBB on Facebook, Instagram and X.
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