LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - It wasn't easy, but the Little Rock men's basketball team pulled out a 63-57 win over in-state rival Central Arkansas in the I-40 Showdown Wednesday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans (5-4) won their third straight home game and were able to take care of the Bears (2-6) even without senior guard
Jordan Jefferson, who was a late scratch due to a back injury. Despite being short-handed, the Trojans only trailed once at the 18:32 mark of the first half and never did again the rest of the game.
Junior forward
Johnathan Lawson continued to stay hot, leading all scorers with 18 points and dishing out 6 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds. Senior forward
Mwani Wilkinson added 15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. Sophomore forward
Ante Beljan chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Layne Taylor, a former Farmington High School star, and Elias Cato paced UCA with 13 points apiece.
Little Rock, who led by as many as 15 in the first half, led 32-25 at halftime.
Wilkinson pushed the lead to 12 with a three-pointer with just under 15 minutes to play in the game.
However, UCA used a 12-2 run to whittle the Trojan lead to four with 7:21 left. The Trojans kept the Bears at arm's length and when Elias Cato's free throw trimmed the lead to three with 5:39 remaining, Lawson answered with a three-pointer.
Moments later the lead grew back to seven and UCA couldn't get any closer until the final seconds of the game.
Little Rock held Taylor below his average and frustrated the freshman into 5-for-16 shooting from the field, including 3-for-11 from the three-point line. UCA shot 28.13% from the field in the second half and 31.1% for the game. The Trojans, who turned the ball over 21 times, did force 16 UCA miscues.
Little Rock will have a bit of a break before it tries to extend its win streak to three. The Trojans play NCAA Division II Ouachita Baptist at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Jack Stephens Center.
