Trojans lose Heartbreaker to Lindenwood in Overtime

Little Rock overcame a second-half deficit to force overtime on a last-second shot but couldn't pull out a victory against Lindenwood Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center. The Lions' Reggie Bass was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with two seconds left in overtime. He made all three free throws to give Lindenwood the 93-92 win.
In a wild game, Little Rock (17-11, 11-6) took a four-point lead on a Mwani Wilkinson bucket with 3:11 left in the extra session. However, Lindenwood (14-14, 9-8) scored five unanswered points to take an 86-85 lead with 2:17 to play. 

Johnathan Lawson stole the lead back for the Trojans when he hit a pair of free throws to make it an 87-86 lead at the 1:24 mark. Jadis Jones answered for Lindenwood to give the Lions an 88-87 advantage with 1:10 remaining. 

The lead shifted back to Little Rock when Jordan Jefferson's shot missed off the glass but Ante Beljan grabbed it and slammed it home to put Little Rock up 89-88 with 43 ticks left.
Lindenwood returned the favor when Bass tipped in a missed layup with 20 seconds left to go up one again. 
Little Rock worked the ball around, and Jefferson canned a three-pointer to give the Trojans a 92-90 advantage with 12 seconds to play.
The Lions got the ball across half court, and were running out of time as the Trojans applied pressure when Bass made a desperation move toward the basket beyond the three-point arc. He was looking to draw the foul and did as Beljan was whistled. 

Bush calmly sank all three free throws to give them the go-ahead lead, and Wilkinson's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer was no good.
Lawson led the Trojans with 22 points and added 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 41 minutes of work. Tuongthach Gatkek, who fouled out, totaled 19 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Beljan, who fouled out, and Wilkinson each chipped in 14 points apiece. 
Bass led Lindenwood with 19 points. 

Little Rock trailed by 10 points with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but a 12-0 capped by a Gatkek putback dunk gave the Trojans a 62-60 lead with 6:45 remaining. Beljan's two free throws with just over three minutes left gave Little Rock a 75-69 advantage, but it evaporated and at the 1:49 mark the game was tied at 75. 

Moments later, Lawson hit one of two free throws to put the Trojans up one. Lindenwood took the lead back when Aly Tinkoura rebounded a missed shot and put it back in to go up 77-76 with 42 seconds left. 
Little Rock came up empty on its next possession and fouled Markeith Browning II. He missed the first free throw and Little Rock had the ball with 19 seconds left and Beljan was fouled. He missed both free throws, and the Trojans had to foul Browning. He made both free throws with 15 seconds left.
On the Trojans' final possession Lawson drove to the basket and found Isaiah Lewis open. The sophomore drilled the three-pointer with seven seconds left to tie the game at 79. A three-pointer by Bass missed, pushing the game into overtime. 

With the loss, Little Rock drops to third place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, one game behind SIUE. Little Rock plays host to Western Illinois Saturday in the annual Homecoming game. Seniors Jefferson and Wilkinson will also be honored.

"We still have a lot to play for," Little Rock head coach Darrell Walker said. "We need to rest up and get ready to play Western Illinois."