A furious comeback came up just short as the Little Rock men's basketball team fell, 72-70, to Tennessee State Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
Aaron Nkrumah hit a go-ahead three-pointer with .6 seconds left. A half-court shot by the Trojans' Toungthach Gatkek that would have won the game was off the mark.
Isaiah Lewis led all scorers with 20 points and added 3 assists.
Johnathan Lawson chipped in 15 points, including 7-of-7 free throws, with 4 steals. Gatkek totaled 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
The teams were tied at 31 at halftime, and it was Little Rock that asserted themselves early in the second half as they eventually built a 50-45 lead with 11:03 left in the game. That's when the momentum started swinging in favor of the Tigers.
A 7-2 run gave TSU a 54-52 advantage. Lewis' jumper tied the game at 54 with 7:08 left, but the Tigers outscored the Trojans 11-5 and when Justus Jackson converted on a bucket with 3:57 remaining, a Little Rock comeback looked bleak.
But, Lewis hit a three-pointer and on the next possession, Lawson was fouled while shooting a triple and made three three-pointers and Little Rock only trailed 67-65 with 1:53 to play. Lawson tied the game when he stole the ball on the press and was fouled and made both free throws.
TSU briefly took a two-point lead but Gatkek scored on a monster dunk off a pretty assist from
Ante Beljan in the lane. Gatkek was fouled and made the free throw to give Little Rock a one-point lead.
On Tennessee State's next possession
Jordan Jefferson stole the ball and called timeout with 37 seconds left. Little Rock couldn't cash in when Beljan's shot missed.
TSU called timeout with 7.7 second remaining. The Trojans committed a foul with one to give to force the Tigers to inbound the ball. They got it to Nkrumah, and dribbled through a double team and drilled the three to give TSU the lead and win.
Little Rock plays host to UT Martin at 5 p.m. Saturday in a game that will be televised by ESPNU.
