Little Rock Uses Big Second Half to Defeat Southern Indiana

The Little Rock men's basketball team outscored Southern Indiana 50-30 in the second half to take a 78-58 win Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans (9-7, 3-2) snapped a two-game Ohio Valley Conference losing streak.
 
Trojans forward Ante Beljan led all scorers with 24 points. He also collected, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Emwani Wilkinson added 20 points, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block. 
 
Johnathan Lawson scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half and also added 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Freshman Caleb Pennyfeather had the best game of his young career scoring 11 points, grabbing 8 boards and totaling 4 blocks and 2 assists. 
 
The teams were deadlocked at 28 at halftime and spent much of the second half neck-and-neck, but Little Rock started to make a move with around eight minutes to play when Lawson took a steal the length of the court for an easy layup giving the Trojans a 55-46 advantage. 
 
The Screaming Eagles (6-10, 1-5) cut the lead to seven with 4:51 remaining but never got any closer as Wilkinson answered with a three-pointer on the next possession and ignited an 11-1 run to the end the game and give the Trojans the easy win. A key play in the spurt was a rebound and putback on a missed free throw by Pennyfeather which grew the lead to 12. Lawson put an exclamation point on the victory by nailing a three-pointer with just over a minute to play.
 
The Trojans continue OVC play with a rare Tuesday night game at Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The game marks the first of five games Little Rock will play before returning to the Jack Stephens Center Jan. 30. The stretch includes four road games and a neutral site makeup game with Eastern Illinois played at Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. Jan. 27.
 
Ante Beljan led all scorers with 24 points in a 78-58 win over Southern Indiana Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.